No Boundaries
by Criminalmindschick221
Summary: Reid and JJ go undercover as a married couple. It starts out as an funny and awkward experience for everyone, but when things suddenly get serious and the two are put in danger, can the team save them from a psycho unsub or will they be too late?
1. The Beginning of the End

Pain. That that was the only thing that ran through JJ's mind as she lay on the cold concrete floor. Not how she got there, not who had taken her, only pain. She gingerly lifted her arm up to feel the back of her head, but when she felt a sticky liquid on her finger tips she couldn't bear to look. Her arms shook beneath her as she pulled herself over to the wall and started to roll over so her back could lean against it. As she did so, she immediately felt an unbearable pain shoot up her body from her leg. Once she was finally relaxed against the wall she brought herself to look down at where the pain was coming from. She immediately saw blood soaking her black pants and knew she needed to lift it up and see what was wrong. She didn't see anything wrong until she got to her knee, as first sight it just looked bloody, like there was no source of it and it was just…there, but once she looked closer she realized her knee cap was either broken or shattered completely because it looked wrong and deformed. The blood, however, was oozing out from a wound just above her knee where a piece of metal was wedged in her thigh. She remembered falling on something hard, but just after that she had passed out so she wasn't entirely sure that was the cause. She closed her eyes for a moment and gulped before remembering that she wasn't the only person who had been brought here. She had been with Reid…where was he?

"S-spence?" JJ called out, finding it surprisingly hard for her to form words. Maybe it was because of the shock she was feeling or maybe it was because she was too afraid that she wouldn't get a response.

"I'm here." She heard him say so she turned her head to right only to see him laying on the ground. His head wasn't turned towards her, but she was slightly relieved when she saw him start to try and get up from the sprawled out position he was in.

"Are you alright?" JJ asked, seeing him struggle to get up.

"I have few broken ribs, but…I'll be okay." Reid turned to look at her and she could instantly tell that he was worse than he let on. His chest was rising and falling rapidly as if he couldn't get any air in and his left eye was blacked out and already yellowing around the edges. Luckily, he managed to get to his knees and start to crawl over to her. It took him a minute or two, but he finally made his way over to her and sat down next to her against the grimy wall. "Are you alright?" He asked, looking her up and down.

"I'm fine." JJ decided not to mention her leg at the moment, seeing the condition he was in. She just wanted to help him first. "Is there anything we can do about your ribs?"

"Well the best thing right now would be for me to stay completely still and try to breathe deeply and calmly because if I panic it is likely that I'll hyperventilate and pass out which would cause-"

"What about your eye? Does it hurt?" JJ lifted her arm and gently touched the edges, noticing him flinch ever so slightly.

"It hurts, but I'll live." She could tell Reid was putting on a brave face just so she wouldn't fuss over him anymore, so she decided to leave it alone for now. "Are you sure you're okay?" He asked her again, starting to look her over more closely now. "You're sweating, JJ." His hazel eyes met her blue ones and she gave in.

"My leg…" JJ muttered, hating feeling this feeble. She looked back down at it before looking away quickly.

Reid leaned over to look at her leg, "Oh JJ…why didn't you tell me?" He looked back into her eyes again and she just shook her head.

"I didn't want you to worry…" JJ felt herself starting to lose energy and she knew it was because of the blood she was losing. "I'm sorry…" She added, seconds later.

Reid shook his head, "It's alright I know what we have to do." He tenderly got to his knees again and took off his jacket, setting it on the ground next to her.

"What?" JJ asked even though in the back of her mind she knew exactly what he was going to say. _Please don't say it, please don't say it._

"We have to pull this out, JJ." Reid told her, "I'm sorry." He ripped the sleeve off his jacket and tied it tightly around her thigh just above the wound and then waited a few seconds for her circulation to cut off. It would make this a whole lot less painful for her. "Okay…ready?"

JJ wanted to say no, she wanted more than anything to tell Reid to stop and to leave her alone, but that wasn't her. She was strong and she could handle this, "Yes." She replied, clenching her fists.

"On three…" Reid put one hand on her thigh and the other on the piece of metal, "one, two…three." He pulled the piece of metal out with a little bit of force and JJ was immediately blinded with pain. She closed her eyes and whimpered quietly, trying not to worry Reid. This was the most pain she had ever felt in her life, not only was her leg throbbing already because of her knee, but now there was a stinging pain coming from her thigh and…she hadn't even mentioned the wound on the back of her head to him.

"Spence…" JJ's eyes were still closed tight, but she felt him working diligently on her leg, wrapping something around the wound.

"Just hold on JJ, I'm almost done. I promise…" Reid told her and a few minutes later she felt him finish his work and rest in the spot next to her again.

JJ opened her eyes, slowly and looked over at Reid, "Thank you." She whispered to him, feeling weaker than she had before. The pain was engulfing her and she felt so much of it that she could barely focus on what Reid replied. It was something about him caring about her so she just nodded and smiled. "Do you know where we are?" She asked glancing down at the piece of metal next to her that had been lodged in her thigh, wondering how something so small could cause so much pain.

"It's a small room, all concrete. I'm guessing sound proof, that's only logical. I'm not sure exactly _where_ though. It had so be somewhere in town, he wouldn't leave."

"Do you remember what happened?"

"When he took us?" Reid sat silently for a few moments before nodding, "You went outside after you asked him where all the drinks were or something…I didn't hear because I was talking to one of the other guys at the party, but I noticed you leave and I knew I couldn't let you go by yourself so I followed. When I walked outside I could see you bent over a cooler, grabbing something out of it. Before I could go back inside I saw a guy start walking towards you and I knew something was wrong because I didn't recognize him and we was holding something in his hands, a bat or club maybe. I started walking out towards you too, making sure to tell the team what was going on through my ear piece, but he hit you over the head with whatever it was before I got there and you fell onto the parking lot gravel and screamed. I guess it was because that thing got lodged in your leg." He pointed at the piece of metal next to her before carrying on, "The team heard it and asked what was going on, but I didn't reply. I was about to kill that guy for doing that to you, but he swung the club around and hit me in the rubs and it in the face. I went into shock and passed out before I could do anything else and I guess you did too and then we ended up here."

"I can't even believe this." JJ shook her head, "At least the team knows we're missing. They'll find us, right?"

"Hopefully. They already know who the unsub is; now all they have to do is figure out where he's holding us." Reid sighed, "I promise everything's going to be okay." He gave her a comforting look and she nodded with a small smile. "You should probably sleep now before he comes back, because you'll need your strength then."

JJ nodded and closed her eyes, thankful that she could finally sleep. As she drifted off she couldn't help but wonder how all of this had happened, even from the beginning she didn't imagine that this would ever be the outcome. Where had they gone wrong?

* * *

The clock read 6:00 AM as JJ sat up in her bed and composed herself for a moment before answering her phone that had been ringing on her nightstand. "Agent Jureau." She answered, trying her best to not sound as tired as she felt. Today was supposed to be her day off, why was someone calling her this early in the morning.

"JJ, its Hotch." He started and before she could cut in he said, "I know it's your day off, but we have a case and we need you."

"Are you sure, I mean, can't you handle this case without me?" JJ asked, glancing at her husband who was now sitting up next to her. He nodded at her; she could see the pride in his eyes because he had been encouraging her to say no to Hotch for once.

"Normally, yes, but this case…well…can you just come in?" He asked her, sounding frustrated.

"Sure," JJ looked over at Will and shook her head, "I'll be there in 20 minutes." She hung up the phone and out of the corner of her eye she saw Will roll his eyes. "I'm sorry Will, but he said that it's really important this time." She stood up and walked into the bathroom.

"He says that every time." Will stood up and followed her. He stood in the doorway and put a hand on each side of the frame, "Come on hun, please don't go."

JJ pulled the toothbrush out of her mouth, spit in the sink and then rinsed her mouth out before speaking. "I'm sorry, Will. I have to go, but I promise I'll buy you a souvenir." She smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Fine, but this time I'll be expectin' something sentimental and heartfelt. Not another t-shirt." Will joked, moving out of the way to let her back into the bedroom.

"You love that t-shirt I got you from San Francisco! You wear it all the time." JJ rummaged through the closet looking for something to wear. She pulled on some black tights, a white flannel shirt that she tucked into a black pencil skirt.

"I guess I should probably tell you. Whenever I wear it to the gym, I take it off."

"Well I'm sure the ladies at the counter _love_ that. They're already drooling over you when you have a shirt on." JJ walked back over to him with her hands on her hips.

"First, I put a different shirt on after I take that one off and second, am I sensin' some jealousy?" Will raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes you do and I have the right to be. It's unhealthy how much those ladies stare at you while they pretend to read their magazines."

"And you think I don't see the way all those big shot special agent guys look at you. They make a lot more money than me so I have a lot more to be worried about."

"Awww, honey, don't worry. You'll always be the one for me." JJ patted his cheek, playfully. She picked up her phone and walked down the stairs where she started looking for her purse.

Will walked down after her, "You know for some reason. I just don't believe you." He grinned, "Care to prove it?"

"Do we really have to do this now, Will?" JJ asked, having just found her purse.

"I guess if you don't really love me, it can wait."

JJ smiled, rolled her eyes and walked straight up to him. She put both her hands on his cheeks before giving him a quick, but intense kiss on the lips. "Enough proof for you?"

"I-uhh…yea."

JJ laughed, "I thought so." She slung her purse over her shoulder and opened the front door. "I love you. I'll call you later and tell you what's going on."

"I love you too." He said and she walked out the door and got in her car. It took her a couple minutes to drive down to the station and when she got there she saw the cars that she had become all too familiar with parked in the parking lot too. It made her feel a little bit better that she wasn't the only one that had to come in early in short notice. She parked in her normal spot and picked up her purse before getting out of her car and walking into the FBI building. The first person she saw was Emily sitting at her desk and sipping coffee like it was just a normal day.

"Morning JJ, sleep well?" Emily asked, smirking.

"I _was_ sleeping well until I woke up to my phone ringing in my ear." JJ rolled her eyes, "Do you know what this is about?"

"Nope. Maybe we're all getting raises!" Emily exclaimed, hopefully.

"Yeah right, Strauss won't give up that money. For us to get raises we'll have to pry those extra dollars from her cold dead-" JJ cut herself off as Strauss started to walk towards them, "Good morning ma'am." She said, politely.

Strauss gave her a slight nod and kept walking until she reached Hotch's office. JJ wondered why she was going up there. Was Hotch in trouble with her again? She glanced at Emily only to see that she was chuckling.

"Nice save." Emily managed, while laughing still.

"Oh shut up." JJ rolled her eyes and walked up the stairs towards the coffee machine. She poured herself some of her abnormally strong coffee; she had to wake up somehow. Once she finished and turned around she saw that Morgan and Reid were now sitting at their desks too. She walked down to join them and leaned against Reid's desk about to join their conversation, but was interrupted by Hotch.

"We're meeting in the conference room." He announced and then walked down the catwalk to go get Garcia from her office.

JJ, Morgan, Emily and Reid filed into the conference room now completely silent. Once they entered this room they had to professional and focus on the case at hand. Rossi joined them seconds later and after a minute or two of awkward silence Hotch and Garcia walked through the door.

"Richmond." He started.

"Virginia?" Rossi interrupted; surprised that they were doing a case that was this close to home.

"Yes, Hudson Jones and Kendall Jones were found inside their surburban house, tortured, beaten and then finally shot Hudson, but he stabbed Kendall 7 times in the stomach to kill her." Hotch informed everyone. The pictures appeared on the screen; Hudson was a tall, handsome man with light brown hair and dark brown eyes while Kendall was a blonde woman with stunning blue eyes. The pictures of the crime scene were gruesome, but for all the wounds that were inflicted JJ noticed that there wasn't that much blood surrounding them. As she was deep in thought, the rest of the team started discussing.

"Well this unsub is definitely over-killing on the woman. It's possible that either a woman rejected him or that he had a bad childhood relationship with his mother. I'd infer that it's most likely that he got rejected based on the age range he chose. It's quite peculiar that he tortured that man too if the woman was his true victim." Reid contemplated, aloud.

"He's also organized; he didn't leave any forensic evidence behind. He had to have planned this weeks, maybe months in advance." Morgan told everyone.

"There's two more victims," Everyone looked up at the screen again, "Gary and Laura Forman. They were found, tortured beaten and killed inside their home as well." The pictures of them came up, Gary had light brown hair and Laura had blonde hair and blue eyes. "They lived in the same neighborhood as Hudson and Kendall."

"He has hunting grounds." Rossi concluded.

"But no over-kill on the woman this time…" Reid was obviously confused.

JJ, who observed the next set of pictures and came to the same conclusion, finally voiced her thoughts. "He didn't torture them inside their house though. The wounds he inflicted on these victims would have caused a lot more blood to be seen at the crime scene. He kidnapped them."

The rest of the team was silent for a few moments and then nodded, seeing that she was right.

"Well…if he kidnapped them, then it must not be about the woman at all because if he just wanted the woman he would have taken her without taking the man, but he took both. This is about something else for our unsub."

"Torture?" Garcia suggested, obviously grossed out by the pictures. She assumed she was wrong, but Reid immediately sat forward.

"That would make sense. Maybe it's all about pain for this unsub, he wants his victims to feel pain." Reid nodded.

"The woman has to mean something though because why else would he choose them all to have blonde hair and blue eyes?" Emily asked, glancing at JJ.

"Maybe these victims are surrogates for the people that he really wants to feel the pain that he is inflicting." Morgan shrugged.

"Well," Hotch started, "Since both of these murders have happened in the same neighborhood we decided to take a different approach. Instead of scaring the unsub away with police everywhere, we want to have eyes inside without causing suspicion. We need to go undercover."

"Who?" Emily asked. JJ sensed hope in her voice, she had always been adventurous.

"JJ and Reid." Hotch answered, "They're the only two who match the descriptions of the previous victims."

JJ looked over at Reid. Sure, they matched the description, but Reid was the youngest member on the team and JJ had the least experience in the field, let alone going undercover. It worried her that the whole investigation was resting on their shoulders.

"What do you need us to do?" JJ asked, looking back up at Hotch.

"I just want you to go in and act natural, act like you just moved in. You'll have earpieces so we'll be there the whole time. We just want to know what's going on within the community and if we don't get anything helpful this way we'll just use a different approach."

"When are we starting?" Reid asked.

"Well the unsub isn't patient he'll start looking for his next victim so I was hoping that you guys would be ready by tonight." Hotch told them.

"Tonight?" JJ looked surprised.

"Is that a problem?" Hotch asked, concerned.

"No…I guess not, but that's just not a lot of time to teach us what to do." JJ was nervous, but she tried to keep in from showing.

"It's just acting. It's really not that hard, I promise." Morgan told her. She knew that he'd done it plenty of times while he'd been in the BAU.

"O-okay." JJ hesitated, "I guess I can be ready by then."

"Alright then. Reid, JJ, I now pronounce you husband and wife."


	2. Two is Better Than One

Reid looked over at JJ who was now sleeping soundly against the wall. He could tell that she was getting weaker, but he knew that in time her strength would come back. Reid sighed and stared at the wall, he couldn't get that look out of his mind. The look she had given him before he had pulled the metal out, a look of pleading and weakness. The woman was usually so strong, but in that one moment she had shown him just how vulnerable she could really be. He knew that she needed him now more than ever and he would be there for her because every time he had needed something or felt vulnerable she had been there for him, so he would repay the favor. No matter how bad things got, Reid made a promise to himself that he would JJ's rock and make sure to protect her before himself. He looked around the room they were in. It was small, dirty and the only way to get in and out was through a door. If he was in better shape he would have gotten up to see if it was locked, but since his ribs were broken and JJ's leg was torn up he knew that even if it was open they wouldn't make it far before he found them again. It was starting to get colder so Reid guessed that night time was falling. He glanced over at JJ to see that she was shivering and even though he really didn't want to move because he knew it would be painful he couldn't just let her shiver like that. He kept his self-promise in minds as he clenched his jaw and started scooting towards her. His broken ribs caused a sharp pain in his chest and his breathing quickly became wheezing. _Deep breaths, _he told himself. _Calm down and _take_ deep breaths._ As he took his own advice the breathing started to become easier, but the pain didn't subside until he reached his destination and settled next to the wall again. He put his arm around JJ and pulled her closer to him for warmth, but he couldn't help wondering about what Will would think seeing his wife in his arms. Reid tried to convince himself that he was forced to do this to keep her warm, but he wasn't sure that Will would see it that way. He watched as she lay against him, putting her head on his shoulder with her body close to his. He felt her breath on his neck as she settled and he just smiled and closed his eyes. It seemed like he had only slept for a couple seconds when he heard the door in front of them unlock and open. A man walked in, the unsub, with a duffle bag and Reid tensed up which caused JJ to wake up too. The unsub looked at the both of them, dropped his bag on the ground and then rested his eyes on JJ who was still groggily waking up.

"Spencer, Jennifer. So glad to see that you're awake." The man smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. "How'd you sleep?"

Reid looked up at him and ignored his question, "What do you want?" He asked, but he didn't know why he did. He knew exactly what this unsub was after. They had covered it on day one; he wanted them to feel pain.

"I want you to play my game." The man chuckled to himself and took his eyes off of JJ to look Reid straight in the eyes for a brief moment.

"No." JJ shook her head and Reid looked down at her only to find that she was looking straight into the unsub's eyes. He could tell that she knew what this game would be about and she didn't want to play it.

"Oooo. I wasn't expecting you to be feisty." The man tilted his head, "The blondes are usually the weak ones, but you…you're different. I respect that." He smiled and paused, "Now for the rules," he looked at the each of them, "there will be eight rounds. Round one will, by far, be the easiest while round eight will be the worst. There will be a time set for each round and if you last for the whole time without telling me to stop, you're done. If you tell me to stop prematurely you have to add the amount of time that you didn't do to the next round. So, for example, if you tell me to stop in the first three rounds, round four is going to be a hell of a lot worse for you, got it?" Neither of the agents nodded so he just carried on, "However if you go past the time and go extra you can _shave off_ time from the next round and trust me that is something you might want to take into consideration. Oh and you see that?" He pointed to a security camera in the corner of the room, "I will be broadcasting live feed of this online because I was thinking that I should make this more public. It's a lot more fun that way, don't you think? I can also watch you closely with that so if you try to escape or try to send a sign to you little friends that I'm sure will be watching then I will add time to round eight and you go for too long in that round, you'll die."

Reid glared straight at him, but he didn't notice because he just carried on with the explanation of his game.

"Oh and round four and five will be team rounds." The man laughed cunningly.

"What does that mean?" JJ asked, sounding confident, but Reid felt her squeezing on his forearm so he knew that she wasn't as fearless as she seemed.

"You will inflict the pain on each other." He smiled and then crouched down in front of JJ. "You're eyes…they're so…blue. The other's eyes were dull blue, but yours…they're stunning. Yours look just like hers did." He reached over and brushed her blonde hair out of her face, looking straight into her eyes. She didn't look away from him; instead she just matched his gaze.

"Don't touch her." Reid growled. This guy was a sicko and he didn't like the fact that he had taken a specific liking to JJ, it was creepy. The two men glared at each other for a few seconds before JJ spoke.

"Who did you say I look like?" JJ asked him, curiously. Reid looked up at him and waited for an answer. It would help them to find out who they were supposed to be representing in his mind.

"You'll find that out in time. Also, between rounds a medic will come in and nurse you two so you don't die in between rounds. We wouldn't want that would we? So, if you make it through all eight rounds then I will let you go, but if refuse to go through with a round or if you have left over time at the end then I will kill you just like I did with the others."

Reid flinched, this game was sick. He couldn't even imagine laying a hand on a woman and now he was going to have to torture his best friend. This guy was messed up, even for an unsub, he was the complete definition of psycho.

"Round one." The unsub pulled a knife out of his pocket and smiled, "You have to go for 2 and a half minutes." He reached down into his duffle bag a pulled out a large digital timer that displayed a 2:30 on it. All he had to do was press start and then it would start counting down. "Who's first?"

Reid looked straight up at the unsub and was about to volunteer, but was surprised when he heard JJ say something next to him.

"I will." She said, her gaze unwavering as he just shrugged and nodded. He moved towards the timer and Reid looked over at her.

"JJ, I can go. You're weak and we have no idea what he's gonna do. Just please let me go first." Reid told her, pleadingly and she whipped her head around to look at him.

"Reid," She said, "its okay. I'm going now and I'll be fine. This is the easy round anyway, right?" She gave him a half-hearted smile and then watched as the unsub crouched down and hit the start button on the timer. He walked over to her and as he started to do his work on her. Reid wasn't expecting him to just dive right into it, but he did and it was completely vulgar and horrifying what he was doing to her. JJ's screams were so loud that Reid was sure that someone _somewhere_ would have to hear them. He reached down, took her hand and held it tight, hoping that he could give her enough comfort and strength to carry on for the rest of the time. They were strong, they could handle this…or at least he hoped that they were.

* * *

After the meeting in the conference room finished Hotch handed Reid a ring which he put on his left hand around his ring finger. He smirked to himself and looked down at the band, he had never expected to be married this early especially to his best friend. He hoped that this wouldn't make it awkward between since JJ was already married and now they had to act like they were a couple. When she had first joined the team, he'd had the biggest crush on her, but now he liked just being her friend and knowing that she would always be there for him. As he trying to decide on how he was going act while they were undercover, he saw JJ walking towards his desk.

"Hey Spence." JJ smiled down at him and leaned against his desk. "So, I just wanted to come over and ask if you're okay with this. I really don't want things to get awkward between us just because he have to _act_ like a couple for a few nights."

"Oh no, I'm fine with this, just a little nervous." Reid shrugged, "I'm glad that you're the one doing this with me though."

"Yea, me too. We can find our footing together, but I don't think it'll be that. All we have to do is act like we're attracted to each other." JJ winked at him, "How hard could that be?"

Reid chuckled and stood up. "Should we go talk to Hotch now? You know, to ask what he wants us to do and everything."

"Sure come on." JJ walked up the catwalk and Reid followed her. He glanced down at his watch and saw that it was 2:30. They had to be settled in their house by 6:00. Time was moving too fast and Reid just wanted to catch up.

"Reid, JJ. Sit please." Hotch told them and then walked over to the door and shut it behind them. He went back to his desk as they sat down and picked up two files. He handed one to each of them. It had a picture of the house they were moving into and pictures of their neighbors with background information. "Once you get in. I want you to meet the neighbors, hopefully they'll come to you, but if they don't insert yourself in there somehow. Make sure you look like you belong no looking professional, dress casual and act casual. There is a community party at the pool this weekend and everyone is invited, everyone has to bring something so feel free to bring whatever you want. JJ, you're currently "looking for a job" and Reid you are a business man and work from home most of the time. Make sure to never talk into your ear pieces while you're in the public and if you get into trouble act quickly and get yourself out. You won't be carrying guns of any kind and if your cover is blown just make sure to get out fast, got it?"

Reid nodded, but out of the corner of his eyes he didn't see JJ nod too.

"You think we're going to come into contact with the unsub?"

"I think he will try to insert himself into your lives and if you see someone stalking you let us know so we can check out their background."

"Now I want you both to go home, get a week's worth of clothes and anything else you need. JJ, make sure you tell Will what's going on. Be back at 5:00 and we'll give you the car you need to get to the neighborhood." Hotch paused, "You're dismissed."

Reid got up and walked out of his office with JJ only to see all their co-workers now sitting at their desks. There was no avoiding it now, Reid knew that they were going to make fun of them for this whole thing and he was dreading it. As they walked down the catwalk he heard Penelope start humming the song they play at weddings when the bride walks down the aisle. His face became hot and he hoped that no one could tell.

"And here they are. I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Reid." Emily chuckled and gestured towards them. Reid heard JJ laughing behind him and he was glad that she did so the experience was less awkward for him.

"Now pucker up, kid. You may now kiss the bride." Morgan added, grinning widely. They all watched the pair to see how they would play this off.

Reid's eyes widened and he glanced back at JJ who was still smiling. Somehow, she had kept her cool, but he wasn't sure how. JJ always knew how to compose herself; it was something he admired about her. He turned back at her and gulped, not sure what she was expecting him to do. He moved towards her just going to go in for a hug, but instead she smiled and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Behind them the team cheered.

"Awwww…." Penelope said, "You two are so adorable!" She walked over to them and wrapped them both into a group hug. "I can't believe they're all grown up." She commented as she pulled away and joined Morgan at his desk.

JJ rolled her eyes, "We have to go you guys." She smiled and started to walk towards the door.

"The bride and groom, making an exit." Morgan joked, "Go on Reid, do it right. You have to carry the bride out." He smiled.

Reid didn't know how to respond so he just started spurting out facts, "Actually, carrying the bride over the threshold isn't actually an American tradition. It originated in ancient times because they believed that the newlywed couple was very susceptible to evil spirits. By carrying the bride over the threshold, the groom is putting a protective space between her and the floor to keep the evil spirits from reaching her and following her into the house."

JJ turned around when she heard them talking and looked at Reid, who by now was completely embarrassed. He looked at her, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"Just do it, Reid or they'll never let us leave." JJ laughed, causing Reid to crack a small smile.

"Okay." Reid nodded and walked over to her. He picked her up off the ground, she wasn't heavy at all so even for him, she wasn't hard to carry. She wrapped her around his neck and waved to all the team members who looked completely surprised that they had actually given in. Reid carried her all the way outside and to her car, "There you go." He smiled.

"Such a gentlemen, since when did you become so chivalrous?" JJ asked, smiling up at him.

"Maybe I always was and you just didn't appreciate it until now." Reid chuckled lightly, "I'll see you later JJ."

"Looking forward to it."


	3. A Day In The Life

**I'll try and keep updating fast so just ignore the spelling errors and things like that because I'm updating these so fast that I have less time to check for the small things like that. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

JJ parked her car in her driveway and got out. She didn't know how she was going to explain this whole situation to Will, hopefully he would understand. Usually when things like this came up they would get into a big heated fight about JJ and her job situation so she hoped that this time would be different. With a heavy sigh, JJ walked up to her door and opened it with her key. As opened the door and stepped inside she could see that her husband and son were watching a soccer game on TV.

"And you see that guy?" Will pointed to one of the men, running in the yellow jersey. "He's a forward and he's the one that always stays in the front and gets the most opportunities to score. In my opinion, he's the best player on the team, all the forwards have to be."

"What did mommy play?" Henry asked and JJ smiled to herself, standing in the doorway and crossing her arms over her chest. She just watched them, not wanting to interrupt just yet.

"She was a forward and she was better than all of the guys on this team, combined." Will chuckled and put his arm around his son.

"So she was the best? You said forwards were the best." Henry stated, tilting his head. JJ knew he'd never seen her play before and she wished he had so that he'd be able to tell for himself if she was as good as everyone said she was.

"She was the very best in the whole entire world. That's why she stopped playing; everyone around the world kept getting mad because she was beating their teams. It's been said that she could make a goal in one kick from there to there." He pointed from goal to goal.

"Wow…" Henry's eyes shined brightly.

JJ decided it was time to stop creeping on them and let them know she was home. She stepped further inside and shut the door behind her. Will turned around to look at her, smiling and she knew that he was glad she was home this early, but it wouldn't be long before she had to break the news to him.

"Mommy!" Henry hopped off the couch and ran over to her. JJ lifted him off the ground and swung him around.

"What have you two been doing?"

"Watching soccer, daddy told me about how good you were. He said you were a legend!" Henry grinned at his mom, "Could you really make a goal with one kick from standing really really far away?"

"He told you about that?" JJ gave Will a look, "He was supposed to keep that a secret because all the other countries might get mad again." She shook her head, "Well since he already told you I guess I can tell you too, but this is top secret information so you have to promise that you won't tell anyone, okay?"

"I promise." He grinned, "So could you?"

"With just one kick the ball would soar all the way across the field and into the goal. It was my trademark actually, they would just kick the ball to me and I would shoot it into the goal no matter where I was on the field."

"Wow…you really are a legend."

JJ laughed and set Henry down on the ground, "Why don't you go upstairs? I need to talk to your daddy real quick." She said, "I'll be up in a few minutes."

Henry nodded and ran up the stairs and went into his room, shutting the door behind him.

JJ walked over to the couch and sat down next to Will, "That was really sweet of you to tell Henry all those things about me, even if they were all true anyway." She joked, lightly.

"Anything for you." Will replied, flirtatiously. He moved towards her with a wide grin on his face.

"Before we start this I should probably tell you that I have to leave for the rest of the week." She broke it to him quick, like ripping off a bandaid.

"On a case?"

"Yes…well sort of, it's in Richmond, but Hotch wants two agents to go undercover and get eyes inside." JJ paused, "He picked Reid and I because we look most similar to the previous victims so we have to stay in a house for a week and try to get as much information as we can."

Will sighed and looked up at the ceiling, leaning back on the couch.

"I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you…" JJ bit her lip, not sure what to say to comfort him now.

"It's just so hard with you leaving all the time." Will sighed a second time, "I just wish sometimes you could stay home and spend time with your family." He looked over at her.

"I know so do I, but I'm literally the only person who can do this because I'm the only person on the unit and maybe in the whole FBI that had blonde hair _and_ blue eyes." JJ shook her head, "I'm sorry and I promise I'll call home every night to say goodnight to Henry and tell you what's going on, okay?"

"I guess, but before you go you're going to have to kiss me goodbye."

"I can't believe you're flirting right now." JJ rolled her eyes and stood up, "I have to pack." She walked up the stairs and into Henry's room. "Hey buddy. Wanna help mommy pack?"

"Sure! Where are you going this time?" Henry asked, taking his moms hand as they walked into the master bedroom.

JJ pulled out a suitcase and set it on the bed, "I'll still be here in this state, but I won't be in the house. I'm just going to spend a few nights on a trip with your Uncle Spence."

"Oh, tell him I said hi!" Henry grinned and went into the bathroom where he pulled out the bag of toiletries that she always had ready just in case they got a surprise case. He placed it into her bag and then sat down on the bed while she packed three days worth of clothes because today was Wednesday and the community party was Saturday so they only had three days to get to know their neighbors.

"I'm sure gonna miss you." JJ told him once she finished packing. She leaned in and gave her son a light kiss on the forehead, "Promise me you won't give your daddy a hard time, alright?"

"I promise."

"Good, now come on. Let's go finish watching that game with daddy." JJ took his hand again and led him down the stairs and over to the couch where she sat down. He sat down on her lap while she leaned against her husband; they looked like a perfect family. When the game was finished JJ looked down at her clock and realized that it was 4:15. She needed to leave now or she was going to be late. "Well I have to go now, but you two boys be good. Don't burn the house down while I'm gone." JJ hugged Henry tightly and kissed his cheek and then she walked over to Will giving him another intimate kiss on the lips. He smiled.

"Bye JJ, I love you."

"Bye mommy, love you!"

"I love you too! See you on Sunday." JJ picked up her suitcase and walked out the door. This job could be so hard for a family, now she had to spend a whole week from her boys. She sighed and got into her car, driving down to the station. As she pulled up she saw Reid walking in, carrying his own suitcase. JJ got out quickly and walked in through the doors, rolling her suitcase up to her office where she left it until Hotch came and gave them some empty bags and boxes. They had to at least look like they were starting to move in. He also gave them the keys to a white SUV, it was definitely a change since they usually drove in black ones. They loaded the stuff into the back and then, saying goodbye to everyone they drove down to the neighborhood. By the time they finally reached their "house" it was already getting dark outside. Both of them had earpieces in and the moment that JJ announced that they were there she heard a voice.

"Somehow you need to get the neighbors outside to meet you. Make some noise." JJ nodded and she looked over at Reid, assuming that he had heard it too. They walked around to the back of the car and pulled out a few boxes that weren't filled with anything useful. To JJ, it just looked like Hotch had filled it with random things just to fill the space. As they started walking JJ bumped into Reid causing him to drop his box, it made a loud crashing noise on the concrete so JJ guessed there had to be something glass inside of it.

"Damn it Spencer!" JJ exclaimed loudly, "You said you could carry the heavy box!"

"Well _excuse me,_ I don't exactly remember volunteering to carry the box anyway. You just handed it to me and asked me if I could carry it, being the gentlemen I am, I said yes." Reid retorted, his voice raised as well.

"Just admit it!" JJ exclaimed now smiling, "You're the weak link!"

Reid shook his head, playfully. "Oh you are sooo going to pay for that! Get over here!" He started running towards her, causing her to 'drop her box' and he wrapped his arms around her and swung her around. She screamed and laughed just as loudly as she dared to. As they had hoped, the porch lights of the house across the street turned on and a brunet woman walked outside in her robe and slippers.

"Um…hello." The woman looked at them, curiously. JJ saw suspicion in her eyes like she didn't think they belonged here and knew they would have to act more casual around each other now.

"Oh, hello." JJ pulled herself out of Reid's grasp and slapped his hand, smirking slightly. She walked over to the woman, "I'm so sorry for all the noise." She shot a glare back at Reid who just smirked.

"Oh no, it's no problem at all. Are you two just moving in?"

"Well, we just put a lease on the house so we're coming down to start moving in, but we probably won't be all moved in for a couple weeks."

"Maybe a month." Reid added, grinning. He walked over at the two women, JJ was slightly surprised at how impressive Reid's acting was. Even she was genuinely convinced that he was a cocky, playful husband. He put his arm around her and she smiled.

"Well welcome then, I'm Carrie Hoagen. My husband, Fred and I live right across the street there." She pointed to her house across the street where her husband was just walking out the door towards them. "Fred come over here and meet our new neighbors." She gestured for him to come over and he jogged down to them. JJ observed them for a moment; they looked to be in their late 30's maybe 40's. The man was definitely older than the woman by more than a significant number of years, but JJ didn't note that as strange because a lot of people do that now. She noticed that when Fred jogged over he stood awkwardly away from his wife so JJ guessed that they were having marital problems. That was all she could profile before JJ knew she needed to break the silence.

"I'm Jennifer Jureau, Jen or JJ if you like and this is my husband Spencer Reid." JJ told them, smiling brightly. She glanced over and was glad to see that Reid was smiling too.

"You didn't take his name?" Carrie asked, tilting her head. Fred looked at them too, curiously.

JJ realized that she had already messed up and forgotten to combine their names. Next to her she saw Reid's face reddened and she knew they needed to recover quickly so she rolled her eyes. "He wanted me to take it, but I'm a teacher so you can understand why I didn't want to change it." She glanced over at Reid who played along, scoffing slightly. "Oh shut up." She pushed his chest and smiled.

Carrie smiled, "You two are adorable. How long have you been married?"

"Ummm…two months I think it's been, right honey?" JJ looked at Reid for confirmation.

"Yep, best two months of my life." Reid smiled and then turned to them. "How long have you two lived here?" He asked them.

"5 and a half years." Carrie smiled, "I know it sounds like a lot, but we really love it here." She told them, genuinely.

Reid leaned in towards them, "So tell me…are the neighbors nice? This is our first house and we really don't want any of the neighbors to hate us." He chuckled, but JJ knew he was asking that just to find out what kind of neighbors they would be dealing with and who they should already be suspicious of.

"Uhh…mostly. All around this corner the people are nice except for this one 80 year old guy on the last house on the right. He's kind of cranky sometimes, but other than that you should be fine." Fred answered this timem giving them a reassuring smile.

"You wouldn't mind putting in a good word for us would you?" JJ asked them, smiling. "It'd be nice for them to already know us before we go over there and introduce ourselves." She shrugged and looked up at the couple, the moon reflecting in her clear blue eyes.

"No of course not. You two are perfectly sweet so I'm sure they'll love you." Carrie assured them, "Well…we should be heading to bed because we have to get up for work, but would you like to join us for dinner tomorrow night at say...7 ish?"

"Sure, that sounds great actually. Much better than the Ramen Noodles that I was planning on making." JJ smiled, "It was nice meeting you."

"The same to you." Carrie told them, "We'll see you tomorrow." She added and then she and Fred walked back into their house.

JJ and Reid walked back over to their yard together and picked up the boxes they had supposedly dropped. "That went well." JJ commented and Reid nodded to her with a smile.

_Very good_. They both paused, hearing a voice in their ear pieces. _Tomorrow try and meet the other neighbors and when you go to the dinner try to find out more about what the other neighbors are like. Good work. Get some sleep._


	4. She's Not Afraid

JJ tried to keep as still as possible as the unsub started to rip the knife through the most sensitive parts of her body. She glanced up at the timer only to see that she had 30 seconds left. _Don't give up, keep your mouth shut and power through this. It isn't even the worst yet._ She told herself, trying not to scream. The unsub lifted up her shirt only high enough to see her stomach and he brought his knife slowly down her side, leaving behind a deep gash. JJ couldn't help it, her mouth came open and she let out another scream. It was the only way for her to get through this, the pain would be even worse if she didn't scream. At least when she screamed she couldn't hear the terrifying noise of the knife ripping through her skin. Tears formed in her eyes as she looked at the timer again. Only 10 seconds had passed since the last time she had looked. She hoped that she would just pass out either from a loss of blood or from the pain that he was causing her. Next he brought the knife down her right arm from her shoulder all the way down to the crease of her elbow. She screamed again, unable to keep herself quiet any longer. Reid took her left hand as the unsub moved to slash the knife into her other side and she was glad to have the feeling of Reid's hand squeezing hers. It was the only thing reminding her that she needed to hold on and keep going. The timer only had a few seconds left on it, but JJ was determined to go for longer so she could take time off of the next round.

"Had enough?" The unsub smiled, he didn't even break eye contact with her to look down at the knife that he was driving into her skin.

JJ looked desperately at the timer and saw that it read 2:40. She'd gone past the time that she had needed to make it to, but now she had to push herself so she wouldn't be struggling for the next round. Her eyes drifted over to Reid and their eyes met, his were filled with dread and she saw his eyes drift down towards the unsub's hands which were now drifting down her leg. Reid's eyes widened and she assumed that he saw where the unsub was about to cut her next, but she didn't dare to look.

"JJ. Tell him to stop, trust me."

JJ just shook her head; she couldn't bring herself to choke out the words. If she couldn't handle this how was she supposed to move on to the next rounds. "No." She managed, to answer Reid's question.

"JJ! Stop being stubborn!" Reid glared at her and she saw his eyes dart down to where the unsub was holding the knife. He cut her feet for a few seconds then stopped and she knew he was listening into their conversation since Reid had started yelling.

"I'm not being stubborn! I'm being rational!" JJ had wanted to raise her voice, but it came out in a soft tone.

Reid's icy cold glare almost made her flinch. She'd never seen him get this angry before and she wasn't prepared for what he was about to say. "Stop being selfish. Whenever situations get hard you start turning things on _yourself_! Stop doing this! Stop making this about you! You're trying to prove something to prove how strong you are and I know that, but you need to stop and think about other people. Let go, JJ and just stop thinking about yourself!" He yelled, "I thought you were better than this, JJ. You were supposed to be the one I could rely, but you're not. You're just selfish." He ended this part more softly, not looking her in the eyes.

JJ felt her heart pumping hard in her chest. Her face reddened and she glared straight at Reid who didn't dare to make eye contact with her. She saw no regret on his face and it made the whole situation seem  
even more real for real. "Stop." She muttered to the unsub, who stood up and stopped the timer.

"I'm impressed Jennifer." The timer read 3:10, "Very inspiring." He glanced down at his knife which was soaked with blood and so were his hands, "I better go clean up before I start on Spencer…that will give more time for the pain to sink in." He muttered to himself before walking out and locking the door behind him.

JJ felt blood seeping through all of her clothes. She glanced at Reid and would have liked to have heard his encouraging words or hear him spurt out a statistic about their chances of getting out of here, but he was silent. Even now, the words he had said stung, she couldn't get his face out of her mind. His eyes blazing and his upper lip curled to form a scowl. She wished she could roll over so she wasn't facing him anymore, but the pain was getting worse with every second that passed. For 3 minutes and 10 seconds she had managed to push through the nagging pains that the unsub was causing her, but now, after the timer was off the pain was worse. Instead of the stinging pain that bothered her, but she could bear, it was a throbbing pain that seemed to pulsate within her body creating a searing pain. Just as she was about to create an inventory of her wounds she heard Reid speak.

"JJ…look," He started, but JJ cut him off in stubborn rage.

"No. Its okay, Reid. You made your views clear and I don't care. It's good…at least now I know how you really feel about me." JJ shot him a glare, but all he returned was a gaze full of regret. She felt cold and started to shiver, trying desperately to hide it from him, but from his gaze she could tell he had seen. He didn't reply to her comment and JJ assumed that it was because he had nothing to say so she clenched her teeth and started to roll over to her other side so she wasn't facing him. Once she finally managed to roll to the other side she let tears stream down her face and tried with all her strength to keep herself from trembling. Behind her she heard a shuffling noise and realized that Reid was getting up and walking around her so that he was in front of her again. His eyes were full of concern when he saw her condition.

"Let me explain." Reid started and JJ would have cut him off, but she was too weak to even protest. "He held the knife over your ankle and I knew what he was going to do. He was going to slit your Achilles tendon. If he went far enough that could have compromised your ability to walk…forever." He paused, "So I knew the only way to get you to stop would be to make you mad and to make you regret it." She looked into his eyes and knew he was telling the truth.

"I _was_ selfish." JJ whispered, letting another tear race down her cheek.

"No you were brave." Reid told her, brushing her blonde bangs out of her eyes. "I can't even imagine how much courage it took to get through that. You're _fearless_, JJ."

JJ let herself smiled weakly, "Thanks Spence." She whispered.

"You're shivering." Reid scooted over to her and embraced her in a hug to help her get warmer. He lifted his hand up to feel her head and then just rubbed her back in soothing circles. JJ immediately felt better now knowing that she and Reid weren't mad anymore and that he would be there to protect her. She felt safe and hopeful with him at her side. They just might get through this, no, they _would _get through this.

* * *

Reid woke up to the sweet smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. He rubbed his eyes and laid there for a few more seconds to bring himself into deep thoughts. He stared at the wedding band around his finger and couldn't help wondering when he would get married or if he ever would. He's always had trouble with girls and he'd always assumed that one day he would find that one girl that loved him for him and all his awkwardness, but he was only a couple years younger than JJ and she was already married. He was just starting to get out of his bed when he heard JJ walking down the hall. She poked her head in the doorway, "Hey Spence."

"Good morning JJ." Reid stood up and walked into the bathroom, starting to brush his teeth.

"So I was thinking…" JJ started, walking over to the doorway of the bathroom and leaning against the frame, "we need to come up with another way to get the neighbors attention and meet the other ones around us." She looked at him for a suggestion.

Reid finished brushing his teeth before responding to her statement. "We could go get a dog and walk it through the neighborhood. By statistic that is one of the top ways that neighbors meet other than at social gatherings and by welcoming or greeting. So does a dog sound good?" He asked, but immediately he noticed her mood changed. She rubbed her arm uncomfortably and her gaze shifted towards the ground.

"I-umm…sure. If you really think that will work." JJ told him and then he remembered that JJ was still afraid of dogs ever since they had attacked her in Tobias Hankel's barn. He had forgotten since then, but he should have known better than to bring it up especially now because it seemed like she was getting over it.

"Actually that will take too much time." Reid noticed relief flood JJ's blue eyes. "Maybe we should just go over there and tell them we just moved in." He shrugged, "We'll figure something out."

JJ nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh and JJ," Reid added, making her pause and turn back around, "if you ever want to talk…about the dogs you know I'm here for you, right?"

JJ smiled slightly and nodded, "Yea you're always there for me. Maybe we can talk about it later." She walked out of his room, but in the back of his mind he was sure that she could make sure it wouldn't be brought up again.

Reid was still worried about her. He knew that even at the mention of dogs JJ would start to feel uncomfortable, it was a fear that _still _was overtaking her even though it had been a few years since it had happened. He would have to help her through this like she helped him through the tough times he'd had after that same kidnapping. For a moment he was silently thankful for the blonde woman's effect in his life, without her he had no idea where he would be right now. Reid got dressed with the clothes the agency had given him, putting on a pair of cacky pants and solid dark blue t-shirt. It was an outfit he would never think of wearing, but it actually suited him. When he walked out into the kitchen he was a bit surprised to see JJ dressed casually. She usually dressed so professional, but now she was wearing black leggings, a baggy light blue button up shirt and light brown boots. He was too busy observing the food on the table to notice her staring at him.

"Lookin' good Spence." JJ laughed lightly. "I actually really like those pants." She tilted her head, "You just might have to keep those after all this is over."

Reid laughed, "Are those yours?" He nodded to the clothes she had on. The blue shirt really made her eyes pop.

JJ shook her head, "Garcia picked them out, but I really like them." She smiled, "It's nice to have comfortable clothes on for once."

"I didn't know you cooked either." Reid glanced down at the pancakes that were stacked on a plate sitting on the table. His stomach growled and suddenly felt the desire to eat one so he grabbed a plate.

"I don't." JJ used a fork to flip over one of the pancakes to show that it was black and crispy looking.

Reid looked at the burnt side and smirked, "I can tell. Gosh JJ what were you doing while you were cooking these?" He chuckled.

"Carrie was outside and she walked across the street over to the house next to ours…maybe she was putting in a good word for us like we asked?" JJ shrugged, "All I know is that they must have had a short conversation because she left a few minutes later."

"So you just left the pancakes burning on the pan that whole time? Who cooks for Henry then? Will?" Reid asked her, smiling slightly at the blonde.

"Actually yea. Will makes the best macaroni and cheese." JJ rolled her eyes, "And I can cook other things, pancakes just aren't my strong suit." She glanced down at their earpieces on the table and picked hers up. "We should probably put these in now before we leave." She stuck hers in her ear.

"Wait, we're leaving, but I'm hungry and I'm definitely _not _eating that." Reid smiled at her before looking through the fridge and pulling out an apple which he ate hungrily after receiving a glare from JJ. He was halfway done with the apple when the door rang and JJ walked over to answer it. From where Reid was standing he couldn't see who it was, but he didn't recognize the voices so he quickly pushed his earpiece in and walked over to the front door. Standing in front of them was a couple, a blonde man with brown eyes and blonde woman with green eyes. They looked to be in their late 30's and Reid saw the platter of cookies they had handed JJ so he smiled.

"This must be your husband, Carrie and Fred told us that you two were cutest couple they'd ever met." The woman smiled, "I'm sorry. We haven't even introduced ourselves, I'm Gale and this is my husband Ray. We live right next door."

"It's so nice to meet you." JJ smiled her perfect media smile that she had mastered throughout the years, "I'm Jennifer and this is Spencer." She laced her fingers through his and he gulped. Yesterday in the dark it had been easy to hide the way his face turned pink whenever they showed each other affection, but in the daylight it was a lot harder. "I'm sure Spence is going to love this cookies." JJ chuckled and Spence gave a light hearted laugh.

"I sure am." Spence looked at the plate with hungry eyes and Gale laughed.

"Would you like to come in?" JJ asked, gesturing towards their living room. Reid noticed Gale glance back at her husband before nodding so Reid concluded that Ray had the most control in the relationship while Gale was the more social of the two.

"Sure." The woman in front of them answered, stepping into their house. Ray walked in behind her and they looked around. "Wow, I love what you've done with the foyer."

Reid looked up and the glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling and pieces of artwork sitting on tables.

"Thank you." Reid heard JJ say as she led them through and into the living room. "Do you guys want anything to drink? We have…water and…well we haven't exactly been on a shopping trip since we moved in so…the choices are slim." JJ smiled brightly.

"Water sounds great, thank you."

"So two glasses?" JJ's eyes shifted towards Ray, who smiled up at her.

"Yes, thank you." Ray responded, his voice was rough and raspy. It was the first time he had spoken since they had arrived.

"My pleasure. Spence could you take care of that?" JJ smiled at Reid, playfully.

"Oh anything for you, honey." Reid gave her a playful wink, causing Gale to smile. He walked into the kitchen and poured them out some water. Lowering his voice, he started to speak to whoever was listening in on the earpiece. "Hello, anyone there?" He asked quietly.

_Reid, its Hotch. What's going on?_

"Two neighbors came over to visit, Gale and Ray. I think you might want to check them out because Ray seems kind of suspicious." Reid told him feeling awkward speaking to Hotch in this unprofessional way.

_Ok we will, try and get as much information as you can and Reid?_

"Yeah?"

_Stay safe. I didn't think this would be dangerous, but with all the neighbors you're meeting you might be getting more attention than we had planned so keep your eyes open, okay?_

"Sure Hotch." Reid nodded and picked up the glasses, entering back into the room where JJ was sitting on the couch across from Ray and Gale. JJ looked up as he re-entered the room and she saw relief flood her blue eyes. It almost made him want to smile, but he stopped himself and handed Ray and Gale their drinks.

"Do you two have kids?" Reid asked, sitting down on the couch next to JJ. He smiled warmly at them.

Gale's eyes drifted to the ground and rubbed her hands together. Reid knew that behavior, the subject was definitely uncomfortable for her so he thought either they had lost a child or couldn't have any.

"We tried, but Gale…" Ray stopped himself, "Let's just say we couldn't, but we're still young so we might adopt." He gave them a smile, but Reid saw right through it. He didn't want kids. The man was lying straight to their faces and he wasn't sure why, maybe because Gale wanted kids or maybe she didn't even know herself.

JJ smiled and started to carry the conversation, but after a few minutes of small talk where he and JJ had tried to get information out of them, Gale and Ray told them that they needed to leave. JJ lead them out and then joined Reid back on the couch. "They were kind of weird…"

"Domestic violence." Reid muttered, looking up at JJ. "Maybe not physically, but I know that at least verbally he's abusing her. The way she looks at him for approval and doesn't contradict him in any way it all leads back to abuse."

"This neighborhood is just full of drama isn't it?" JJ sighed, "You don't think Ray might be the unsub do you?"

"No." Reid said, "He hasn't abused Gale physically yet which tells me that he's scared and our unsub wouldn't be. He would get off on causing her pain so it couldn't be Ray."

JJ nodded and he glanced at the clock. It was 1:00 now so they had plenty of time before the dinner they were going to.

"What should we do now?" Reid asked JJ, who shrugged.

_Get outside and do something so that if you see anymore neighbors outside you can meet them. _

"Yardwork?" JJ looked at Reid with a smile, but he just sulked. Physical activities weren't exactly his strong suit.

_There are tools in the garage already. Get to work. _

Reid could tell that Hotch was enjoying this. The unit chief knew that he hated physical things so he was just suggesting it for a amusement.

JJ stood up, "I'm gonna go change before we start and you should too. That shirt is nice." She smiled and walked down the hallways and into her room.

Reid got up few moments later and walked down into his room. He searched through the boxes and put on a pair of long basketball shorts he found and a t-shirt. He felt kind of dorky with shorts on, but he knew if he protested JJ would just make him wear them anyway. He walked out into the living room and sat down on the couch to put his tennis shoes on. JJ walked out and sat next to him, she was wearing a pair of tight yoga pants and a loose t-shirt. She sat down next to him and put her shoes on.

"Oh shut up." Reid rolled his eyes and stood up, walking into the garage. He glanced behind him as he saw her enter a few seconds later. He eyed the lawn-mower and gulped knowing he couldn't make JJ push it. "How do you…?" He looked at the cord on the lawn-mower and pulled it gently.

"Woah there tiger." JJ teased, "We have to fill that up with gas before you start mowing." She picked up a red canister of gasoline and he silently wondered how she knew that. She poured it into a small hole until it was full. "Now," She started, pulling it out of the spot it was in, "you hold this down," She took his hand and put it over a lever which he pulled down, "and then pull this cord as hard as you can. To make it move forward you have to hold down this second lever." She pointed to a blue lever next to the one he was holding down with his left hand.

"Okay…" Reid muttered, "Easy enough." He rolled the mower out of the garage and let our a deep breath before pushing down the first lever which he assumed let the fuel start running to the engine. He pulled hard on the cord, but nothing happened. He heard JJ giggled behind him and his face reddened.

"Harder Spence, you can do it!" JJ urged and he suddenly felt motivated.

Reid pulled as hard as he could on the cord and to his delight, he felt the mower vibrate and heard a loud noise he knew was coming from the machine in front of him. He pushed down the right lever with his right hand the mower jerked forward, but Reid quickly controlled it and started going through the yard. He heard JJ cheering behind him and he felt pride swelling within him. He glanced over to see that JJ had started to trim the bushes and work on pulling the weeds in the flower beds. When Reid finished mowing, he glanced up at the sun and from its placement in the sky he could tell that it had to be either 3:00 or 4:00 and the only person they had come across were too young kids riding their bikes down the street. Reid walked over to JJ who was now finishing up with the weeds in the yard. She looked up at him and shrugged.

"I guess people just don't walk around and socialize much here." JJ sighed and put her hands on her hips. "We should just start getting ready for our dinner then. It's 5:00." She told him after looking at the watch on her wrist.

Reid nodded and started pushing the mower back into the garage, but paused when he heard a woman's voice behind them.

"Jennifer! Reid!" Carrie called walking over to them from her porch. Reid could have sworn he saw JJ roll her eyes before looking up at him, but he wasn't completely sure.

"I got this, you put that away." JJ pointed to the lawn mower and then jogged over towards Carrie, meeting her on the sidewalk in front of their yard. The two women talked and Reid was impressed with how good JJ was at acting like she was interested in what other people were saying. Carrie was rambling on and on to her, but instead of not listening she nodded her head and kept herself engaged in the conversation. It had been 10 or 20 minutes before the women split apart and JJ started walking towards him. "She invited all the other neighbors to the dinner too."

_Perfect._

Reid saw JJ jump and he laughed, not expecting her to punch him on the arm.

_Sorry JJ didn't mean to eaves-drop._

Reid recognized the teasing voice in their ears to be the one and only, Derek Morgan. JJ rolled her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh just for Morgan to hear it, but he didn't respond.

"She also said to dress formal." JJ smiled at Reid, "Looks like you're going to have to wear the suit that they packed you."

"And you're going to have to wear the dress." Reid countered.

"They packed me a dress?"

"Did they?"

JJ stood confused for a moment before turning on her heels and walking into the house from the garage. He knew she was probably going to check and see if hed had been right.

_Well played, kid._

Reid walked into his room and removed the earpiece, feeling awkward changing with it one because he wasn't sure how much it could hear. He lifted a well ironed suit out of one of the boxes and sighed. He put it on unenthusiastically, hoping that he would look good enough next to JJ. He had to pull off being her husband anyway. When he finished and looked in the mirror he just shrugged, not really impressed, but not dissatisfied either. The young agent walked out of his room and into the kitchen even though he knew JJ wouldn't be ready yet so Reid started his calculations. Assuming that JJ was going to do her hair, do her full make-up and get dressed, she would most likely get dressed first so that the clothes wouldn't mess up the hair and make-up. This would take anywhere from 15-25 minutes depending on how complicated this dress was. Next she would do her hair and if she was going to either straighten or curl it the process would take around 30 minutes either way, if was putting it up the time would be cut down by 10-15 minutes. Lastly, the makeup…he wasn't exactly and expert in cosmetics, but for normal women to put on the average amount of makeup it would take an average of 20 minutes. So the total would come out to be a range of 50 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Just as Reid was about to start calculating how much time had passed since she had started he heard the door to her room open and he turned around. When he saw her, calculations were the last thing running through his mind. The dress she was wearing was a simple tight red dress that hugged her figure in just the right way to compliment her curves. She was wearing red lipstick and her blonde hair was in large bouncy curls on her shoulders. She was stunning and Reid couldn't find words to come out of his mouth.

"Aww! I love your suit, you look great Spence!" JJ exclaimed, walking over to him. She fixed the collar on his button up and then smiled. "Now it's perfect."

Reid grinned back down at her. "You umm…you look, I mean…you…I like your dress." He stammered, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"So do I. I might have to ask the bureau if I can take this one home." JJ smiled and looked up at the clock on the wall. "Its 6:45. We should leave. Do you have your earpiece in?"

Reid nodded, still speechless from her appearance. He walked to the front door and opened it for her, before walking out after her. They traveled across the street and saw another couple out on the porch already that was being greeted by Carrie and Fred.

"Put your arm around me." JJ told him as they started to approach.

"W-what?" Reid asked, avoiding her eye contact.

_You heard her. _

Reid heard the voice and he nodded. It was time for them to put on a show; they had to be the center of attention. He lifted up his right arm and draped it around her shoulders comfortably pulling her closer to him.

"Well look who it is." The voice of Carrie rang out, "Just on time." The couple on the porch turned around to look at them and JJ smiled brightly.

"Hi, I'm Jennifer and this is Spencer." JJ outstretched her hand to shake the man's, but he didn't say anything or shake her hand. Reid noticed and knew that his reaction had thrown JJ off, but she had played it off cool. "What are your names?"

There was a brief pause before one of them finally spoke, "I'm Lauren and this is my husband, Brian. It's very nice to meet you two." The woman told them and Reid saw JJ relax slightly now that she had broken the tension.

"It's nice to meet you too." Reid smiled and looked at the man who smiled politely back at him. Carrie invited all of them in and shut the door behind them. He caught JJ's eyes just as she was giving him a look and then nodded towards Brian. He nodded back at her and walked over to him while JJ drifted over to some of the neighbors they hadn't met yet.

As Reid walked up and was about to bring up a topic he saw Brian smile, "Spencer right?" He grinned and the genius was confused by his sudden change in behavior. Brian held out his hand for him to shake.

"Yea and you are Brian, Lauren's husband?" Reid confirmed with him as he shook the man's hand. He noticed the strength and force that Brian used in his handshake. This man was muscular and Reid knew that he had to play a sport of some kind to be as fit he as he was. Lauren and Brian both looked to be in their 30s, around the same age as Gale and Ray, maybe younger.

"Yes sir, I am. We live next door to Carrie and Fred, so we're diagonal to you guys." He grinned, "We were going to come over and bring some welcome…food or something, but it just got away from us." He was lying, but it wasn't an important lie so Reid didn't pursue it further.

"It's fine. We've been trying to get around and meet some of the neighbors, but no one seems to be into socializing around here." Reid chuckled and the man laughed along with him.

"You golf?"

"I've been before, but I didn't take much of a liking to it." Reid glanced across the room quickly just to check on his partner who was still talking with some of their other neighbors.

"You play _any _sports?" Brian asked.

_Lie. Build rapport._

"I played baseball in high school, varsity and for my freshman year in college." Reid smiled and looked away from the man, pretending to be caught up in the memories.

"Why'd you stop?"

Reid panicked; he didn't know much about baseball only a few of the basic rules. He knew he couldn't say he quit either because that would ruin the rapport he was building with this man.

_Injury._

"Fourth game of the season, top of the ninth. I'm to bat and the winning run is at first base. There's one out so I know, I have to move them over…" He was struggling to remember the portion of the rule book he had read.

_Base hit. _

"I hit a ground ball and it got past the second base so I was safe at first and the winning run advanced to second."

_Next batter watched the pitch and winning run stole third. You got the sign to steal and slid…there's your injury._

Reid was thankful for Morgan's help. "The next batter watched the pitch and the winning run stole third easily. My coach gave me the sign to steal so maybe they would try to throw me out and the winning run would have an opportunity to score. I took a lead and ran, but the catcher threw the ball well before I was there. When I slid my cleat got caught on the base and shattered my knee cap. I was out, the winning run scored at home."

"That's one hell of a story, you have a scar?"

Reid pulled up his pant leg on his bad knee to show him a scar that he had gotten. He saw Brian grin and he knew that the link was built.

_Bring JJ back over._

"My wife actually has the most amazing story about one of her soccer games. You have to hear it. JJ!" Reid waved over to his partner who walked over quickly.

"Yes sweetie?" JJ put her arm around his waist he put his arm around her again. Brian eyed the both of them and Reid felt the tension rising again.

"You remember that amazing soccer story you told me about the other day?" Reid smiled, "Well it turns out that Brian is a huge sports fan and I think he'd love to hear it."

Before JJ could start, Brian shook his head. "Actually I don't."

"Umm…excuse me?" JJ smirked, "Do you have a problem with me or something?" Reid was surprised at how fast she was bringing this conflict up. She was obviously not afraid of getting into a confrontation with this man.

"Yes I do." Brian rolled his eyes at her and started to walk past her, but she stepped in front of him.

"What is it?" JJ asked, putting her hands on her hips. "What did I do to you? We've never even met." She gave him an icy glare. Reid gulped and stood back, he wasn't sure if he should get involved or not.

_Keep pushing JJ, see how he reacts._

"I'm pretty sure all I did was introduce myself so you need to calm yourself down and stop acting all weird whenever I talk to you, okay? If you and Spencer are going to be friends then you can't act like that to me." JJ gave him a fierce look, "So what did I do?"

Brian sighed and walked out onto the porch so that they wouldn't disrupt the party. Reid and JJ followed. "You… you acted confident. The way you stepped in front of your husband like that and introduced him to everyone else was just…wrong. Women are supposed to be the less superior role to men!" Brian's voice was started to rise, but JJ didn't back down.

"No they aren't! Women's suffrage happened for a reason. We have rights and I can do whatever I want and you have no right to tell me what I can and can't do!" JJ yelled at him. "Besides when we met you your wife introduced you to us! Was that wrong?"

"No because I she waited until I didn't speak to start speaking. You just walked straight up and got right into the center of things. It was obnoxious and intolerable!"

"What the hell is wrong with you? Are you from the 1950's or something? You need to come back to the present and realize that women like men can do whatever they want! You're a scared little man that's afraid of women!" JJ yelled, pushing harder.

It all happened too quickly and Reid just wished that he could have gone back and changed how everything happened. After JJ finished her last sentence Brian lifted his hand and slapped her hard across the face. Reid saw her head jerk to the side and he flinched, knowing that it had to have stung. Before JJ could react Reid was charging towards Brian only to find that the man had yanked the door of the house open and slammed it shut behind him before Reid could reach him.

_What's happening? Is JJ okay? What just happened? Talk to us._

Reid turned around and saw that JJ had lifted her hand up to touch her cheek. "JJ…" Reid started, ignoring the frantic voices in their ears.

"I can't believe…I mean, I didn't think he would…" JJ shook her head. "He just…" She was in shock and Reid sat her down on the couch that was on the back porch. Her hair was in her face so he couldn't see where he had slapped her.

"Where did he hit you?" Reid asked, slowly moving the hair out of her face. Her hand was on her cheek, but he didn't hear what she saw next because of the yelling in his earpiece.

_That bastard hit JJ? HOTCH, GET DOWN HERE!_

"His palm hit right here." JJ touched the top of her cheekbone tenderly, "The rest of his hand hit my eye." She told him.

"Yea…it's already swelling. Come on, let's go home." Reid put his arm around her helped her up out of the chair because she was still shocked.

"Why did he…? We were just talking."

"More like yelling." Reid smirked, "You're a very forceful woman, JJ. He just couldn't take the heat." He joked and was happy to see that the corner of her mouth twitched upwards.

_I'm gonna kill that rat bastard._

JJ looked at Reid with her good eye wide, "Was that Hotch?" She whispered. Neither of them had ever heard their unit chief sound that angry, other than when Foyet had been threatening his wife.

Reid nodded, "Yep. Brian better sleep with his eyes open." He led JJ back into their house.

* * *

Reid stared desperately at the timer and saw that there were only a few seconds left. He felt relieved, but when he felt JJ still tense he knew that she was going to go past the set time and he didn't blame her. At least that would mean she would get the time off of the next round.

Reid cringed as the unsub started to tease her, "Had enough?" The man asked and Reid felt sick to his stomach. She didn't deserve to have any of this happening to her. The unsub made momentary eye contact with Reid before lowering the knife down to her ankle. First he was just cutting her foot, but the profiler knew what his next move was going to be and his eyes widened.

"JJ tell him to stop, trust me." Reid pleaded as the his fears were confirmed. The unsub lifted the knife up and held it above the back of her ankle. He couldn't let this happen to her.

"No." Reid heard JJ choke out and he bit his lip as he heard how hard it was for her to rasp that one word.

"JJ stop being stubborn!" Reid yelled, he knew he had to take a different approach if he wanted her to stop. He had to guilt her out of it, that was the only way to convince her.

"I'm not being stubborn! I'm being rational!" JJ's voice was soft, but firm so he knew she was weak and she needed to stop before the unsub cut. Luckily for her, the man had stopped when Reid had started yelling.

Reid gave her the coldest glare he knew how to give and he made sure to hold it out even after he saw the hurt expression on her face "Stop being selfish. Whenever situations get hard you start turning things on _yourself_! Stop doing this! Stop making this about you! You're trying to prove something to prove how strong you are and I know that, but you need to stop and think about other people. Let go, JJ and just stop thinking about yourself!" He yelled, "I thought you were better than this, JJ. You were supposed to be the one I could rely, but you're not. You're just selfish." It hurt him to say those words to him, but he tried to tell himself that it was the only way. She wouldn't stop for anything else and if the unsub cut that tendon on her ankle, she would never forgive herself.

There was a short pause in the room and Reid's heart dropped, knowing that the unsub would return to his work soon, but then he heard JJ tell the unsub to stop. Her voice was weak and full of sorrow and regret, but he knew that even in this state it was better than being paralyzed.

The unsub grinned, "I'm impressed Jennifer." The timer read 3:10, "Very inspiring." He glanced down at his knife which was soaked with blood and so were his hands, "I better go clean up before I start on Spencer…that will give more time for the pain to sink in." Reid was happy when the unsub left, now he just had to explain to JJ why he'd said all those things. He sat in silence for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say when he finally spoke up.

"JJ…look," He was going to explain everything that he had been thinking and was going to comfort her and encourage her, but instead she cut him off.

"No. Its okay, Reid. You made your views clear and I don't care. It's good…at least now I know how you really feel about me." He gulped when she used his last name. She had to be really hurt to be calling him. Even though he knew she was in a lot of pain she rolled over so she wasn't facing him anymore. Reid decided that now he had to take a chance and just try again so he got up, ignoring the pain that radiated from his ribs. He walked around to the other side of her and sat down against the wall. He noticed now that she was in front of him that she was deathly pale and that she was shaking violently, but before he could help her he had to make up with her.

"Let me explain." Reid started, "He held the knife over your ankle and I knew what he was going to do. He was going to slit your Achilles tendon. If he went far enough that could have compromised your ability to walk…forever." He paused, "So I knew the only way to get you to stop would be to make you mad and to make you regret it." He looked straight into her blue eyes so that she would believe him.

"I _was_ selfish." JJ whispered and Reid saw a tear fall down her face. Great, now she was starting to believe all of the stuff he had made up.

"No you were brave." He brushed her bangs out of her eyes while making sure to be extremely gently. "I can't even imagine how much courage it took to get through that. You're _fearless_, JJ."

JJ gave him a smile, "Thanks Spence." She whispered.

Within a few seconds Reid saw that she was still trembling and he was concerned, "JJ…you're shivering." He scooted towards him, once again ignoring the protest from his ribs. He wrapped his arms around her to get warm, but it wasn't even that cold so he was worried that she was getting a fever. He lifted his hands up to feel her forehead and to his relief she didn't have one yet, but with all the dirt on the ground that they were laying on he was almost sure that her wounds would get infected if the medic didn't come soon. He rubbed soothing circles on her back, hoping that it would calm her down and maybe she would fall asleep before the unsub came back in. Reid heard the door open and glanced down at JJ, but he wasn't sure if she was asleep or not.

"Aww how sweet. You two made up…" The unsub smirked, "And I was soo hoping that all this fighting would just make rounds 4 and 5 more fun." He rolled his eyes. "Now loverboy scoot away from her, it's your turn now."

Reid tried to be as gentle as he could as he scooted away from her, but her eyes quickly opened and she realized what was happening.

"Spence, you have to be strong okay? You need to make sure that you keep your mind somewhere else…just stay strong." JJ nodded at him.

The unsub heard what she was saying he was filled with rage. He slapped her across the face and she didn't say anything else. Reid was reminded of the first time that the unsub had slapped JJ, in just that same manor while they were undercover. Then, neither of them knew that in just a few more days they would be at the hands of this maniac with no idea whether they were going to be alive by the end of the day. Or if they even wanted to be.


	5. I'm Still Standing

**HAPPY NEW YEAR. Hope you guys like this chapter. :)**

* * *

JJ's face stung slightly after the slap, but it didn't bother her as much as the first slap did because of all the other pain she felt all over her body. She still shaking and sweat covered her face, even she knew that wasn't a good sign, but now wasn't the time to think about that. She had to help Reid through this just like he had helped her. The unsub had just started the time and JJ looked into Reid's hazel eyes only to see that they were now full of panic.

"It's okay. I'll be here the whole time. I promise, just stay strong Spence." JJ bit her lip and watched as the unsub started by lifting the knife to Reid's cheek. He dug it in and then extended the cut all the way down to his chin, making blood drip off of his face. JJ saw Reid cringe, but he didn't cry out just yet. The next cut that the man made was across his stomach from the top of his ribs to his hip. Reid let out what sounded like a whimper and JJ took his hand making sure to squeeze it for comfort. She looked over at the timer which read 30 seconds already, he was going at a good pace considering that he hadn't even cried out yet.

Reid turned to look at her as the unsub started to make a cut through his pants and down his thigh. "JJ, talk to me." He said, his voice was shaking and sounded strained.

"W-what? What do you want me to say?" JJ asked, finding it ironic that whenever she had been in the field or dealing with victims she always had the right thing to say, but now…when Reid needed her most she couldn't find words.

"Anything…_please. _Tell me about Henry…" Reid smiled and JJ nodded, knowing that he loved his godson and loved hearing stories about him. She desperately tried to come up with the last cute story that she remembered.

"Last week, Will and I decided that it was time to teach Henry how to ride a bike. So I thought we were going to start him off with training wheels or something easy, you know?" JJ glanced at the unsub who was listening intently while still dragging the knife down Reid's leg.

Reid whimpered slightly, but nodded and gave her a small smile.

"Well Will walks outside with this bike that has absolutely no training wheels on it and I wasn't gonna have it so I made Henry where a helmet, knee pads and elbow pads. He looked so nerdy that Will decided there was only one way for him to redeem himself. He had to ride down this huge hill we have in our neighborhood." JJ smiled, remembering the memory. If only she could go back then instead of being here. When she realized that Reid was waiting for her to continue she got back into the story. "So here's my precious little boy riding down this huge hill with only a helmet and pads to protect him. Will did that cliché dad thing where they say they aren't going to let go and then they do, but instead of just being normal and having Henry ride on flat ground he sped down this huge hill. I held my breath the entire time, but he made it all the way to the bottom before riding into someone's yard and falling into their grass. He laughed so hard that I thought he was crying." She took Reid's hands in hers as she glanced at the timer again. It was at 2:30 so JJ decided to keep talking and keep Reid occupied even though she saw that his eyes were swimming. "Then since our son did it on his first day riding I dared Will to do it."

"JJ…" Reid rolled his eyes and sniffed. "You're crazy." He choked out.

"He rode halfway down before he fell off and scraped his elbows on the sidewalk. He played it off cool, but I knew that it had to have hurt like hell." JJ smiled, "Henry helped me patch him up and then we went for a family bike ride in the park." She laughed, finishing her story. "I think one day Henry's gonna have a lot of the qualities that you have, Spence."

"What qualities are those?" Reid raising his eyebrow and squeezing her hands to keep from screaming as the unsub cut into his back.

"So many things. You're corny sense of humor that always makes me laugh even though you aren't even trying, that awkward dorkiness that I find absolutely adorable, and the way that you always know how to comfort me when I'm sad or scared. I'd be happy to see Henry grow up to be half of the man that you are."

Reid's eyes lulled and JJ looked at the timer, it was 3:00. She knew that he shouldn't go any longer because he looked too weak to carry on.

"Spence you can stop now, you went past the time." JJ told him, making sure to make eye contact with him and give a reassuring look. He gave her a small nod before looking down at where the unsub was cutting on his calf.

"Stop." He muttered, sounding exhausted.

The unsub nodded and stood up, looking at the timer. It was stopped at 3 minutes and 16 seconds. "Wow Spencer you must have a pretty high tolerance for pain. You last a couple seconds longer than Jennifer." He turned to look at her, "Speaking of you…I don't approve of you talking to him and comforting him about this. Don't you realize that this is _supposed_ to be about pain? If I catch you doing that again I will take away your bonus time, but as for this time, I'll just have the medic only tend to Spencer because you've been disobedient."

"No!" Reid tried to protest, but he was too weak to sound intimidating so the unsub just ignored him and walked out. "JJ…I'm so sorry. I told you to do that and now…"

"Reid…I'm going to be fine, okay? And so are you so stop acting like this is where we're going to die. It's not." JJ told him firmly and scooted back over to him. "They're looking for us right now and they_ are_ the best team in the FBI." She glanced up at the camera and wondered if they were watching them right now. She yearned to hear Morgan's teasing and one of Emily's sarcastic jokes or one of Penelope's infinite different ways to answers the phone; she even wanted to see Hotch's cold, unemotional expression. She wanted to see her son and her husband again, but it felt like they would never get out of here.

JJ leaned against Reid and he brushed her bangs out of her eyes again so that he touch his hand to her forehead, but she swatted him away. "Don't worry about me; you're the one who just got tortured."

"You feel hot." Reid looked at her with a concerned expression on his face. "I think you might be starting to get a bacterial infection. JJ, you _really_ need medical treatment or else this could turn into something serious. "

"You need treatment too. Plus he won't leave us for long before round two starts so all I have to do is make it through round two and then I'll be good. I promise I'm gonna be fine, don't worry." JJ rubbed his arm, soothingly hoping that it would give him some comfort.

"How is it that you're so strong all the time?" Reid smiled down at her, "I mean I just told you that you might be getting an infection and _you're_ comforting _me_."

"That's because I know everything is going to be okay. So you just relax and get some sleep before the medic gets in here." JJ urged him, nestling her head underneath his chin and closing her eyes. She felt him relax too and together, they both got what seemed like few minutes of rest before the door started to open again. JJ's heart started pumping and she bit her lip, trying desperately to fall back asleep because she didn't want to be awake if it was the unsub again. Luckily, it was just a man dressed in scrubs so JJ assumed that he was probably the medic, but there was something about him…like she'd seen him before.

"It's nice to see you two again." JJ immediately recognized the raspy and uninviting voice that this man used. It was Ray, the man who had lived next door to them while they were undercover. He bent down in front of Reid and gently pushed JJ off of him. "Tough luck sweet cheeks..." He muttered to her before pulling out a needle from his bag and injecting something into Reid's arm.

"What is that?" JJ asked him, knowing that Reid had a drug problem before this. She hoped it wasn't anything that could pull him back into being dependant on a drug. She glared at Ray, suddenly losing all the respect she'd had for him when they had met.

"Calm down, blondie it's just morphine." JJ felt a little relieved, knowing that morphine was a common hospital drug, but she also knew that in the state that they were in, any kind of pain killers could be addicting.

Reid saw her reaction and shrugged, "It's okay, JJ." He told her with a calming tone so she decided to leave it alone for now.

Ray started to clean out Reid's wounds and scrub the blood off his body. JJ watched, longing for the feeling of having this sticky substance cleaned off of her. She wondered what it felt like as she watched Reid's expression. He looked thankful and comforted now that he wasn't feeling so much pain anymore. She was glad that he was relaxed because now she could focus on her own wounds and on staying awake. In the back of her mind the blonde agent knew that if she started to doze off something bad would happen. The unsub could come back or…she might not wake up at all so for now, JJ was going to keep her eyes open and stay alert. It took Ray anywhere from 20-30 minutes to finally finish cleaning out Reid's wounds and patch them up. When he was done he just stood up and left the room without giving them another word. JJ's eyelids felt heavy and she _did_ want to close them to get away from this nightmare she was living, but she fought it frantically. Reid looked over and his now dull hazel eyes were only filled with anxiety.

"JJ, are you okay?" She barely heard him ask because she felt herself starting to fall asleep. The pain, the nagging exhaustion and the shivering all made it hard for her to concentrate on anything at the moment.

"I ummm…" Her head throbbed with exhaustion, "I'm so tired…I just want to sleep." She felt her eyes start to close, but she pulled them open quickly and stared at Reid.

"JJ, you can sleep. I'll wake you up if he comes back and your condition isn't that serious yet, you'll wake up." Reid told her, as if reading her thoughts. It was weird how he always knew what she was thinking.

"I…just…don't want to…" JJ's felt her eyes flutter and then shut, "leave you…alone." She was now whispering because she felt the darkness start to overtake her. The exhaustion and fatigue was making it easy for her to fall asleep.

"Don't worry. I'll be okay." Reid pulled her close so that she was laying against him. She felt the coldness start to creep in just as she started to fall asleep so she curled close to Reid hoping that it would keep the both of them warm. _Only 7 more rounds.._. JJ told herself, but it was a bittersweet realization. There were 7 rounds left and who knew what was in store for them.

**A FEW HOURS EARLIER IN QUANTICO**

Morgan was listening into the conversations that JJ and Reid were having at the community party, but nothing was really happening and he felt slightly disappointed. This party was supposed to be when they cornered the unsub and found out as much information as they could about him. He tuned into JJ's conversation when he heard her ask where the drinks were and he told her that they were outside. A few minutes later he heard Reid end his own conversation with the man and Morgan knew that he was going outside to make sure that JJ was okay. At first he didn't hear anything, but then there was a shuffling of footsteps and Reid started talking to him.

_There's a man running towards JJ. He has a bat, I can't tell who it is…_

Morgan's heart started beating and he just kept listening to whatever was happening, but it wasn't very telling. The next think he heard was the crack of the bat.

_He just hit her, we need help!_

Morgan sprung out of his chair and started running down towards Hotch's office. "Reid! Reid! What's happening?!" There was more shuffling and another crack of the bat, but then silence. "Reid? JJ? What happened?" Morgan asked frantically as he walked into Hotch's office, but there was no response for a couple seconds until he heard the voice of a man that he didn't recognize.

_Don't bother looking for them because you'll never find them. I suggest rather than wasting your time searching, you just pray that they have the strength to get through this. Oh and next time you put agents undercover I suggest at least changing their last names. Good luck, FBI._

Hotch stood up when Morgan walked into the room, "What happened Morgan? Did Brian hit her again? Are they okay?"

Morgan ripped off his earpiece and threw it on the ground, "Is Garcia recording these?" He asked.

"What happened, Morgan?" Hotch asked, stepping towards Morgan.

"Was Garcia listening in, Hotch?" Morgan asked him again, this time with a little more force. He was getting agitated and he just needed to listen to the conversation again to see if there was something that he missed the first time.

"Yes, she was, but-" Hotch started to say, but Morgan didn't hear the rest of it because he trudged out of Hotch's office and jogged down the catwalk and into Garcia's office.

Garcia jumped and turned around, "Hello there my chocolate-" She didn't get to finish either because Morgan cut her off.

"Garcia I need you to pull up the recording of Reid and JJ's earpieces." Morgan sat down in the chair next to her and he glanced backwards as Hotch walked in with Rossi. Hotch's brow was furrowed with worry, but Morgan just turned back to the computer screen because Garcia had pulled it up. It started off slow just like Morgan remembered, but then they all heard JJ go outside and he saw Garcia bite her lip next to him. Next Reid walked out too and few seconds went by before there was shuffling and Reid started talking into the earpiece.

_There's a man running towards JJ. He has a bat, I can't tell who it is…_

Garcia closed her eyes as if she knew where this was going and Morgan leaned forward trying to listen harder now that it was the second time. He heard the crack of the bat against what he could only assume was JJ's head.

"Did he just…?" Garcia asked, but Morgan didn't answer he listened carefully to them next part because it was when all the action seemed to happen.

_He just hit her, we need help!_

Garcia's eyes widened and Morgan glanced back at Hotch again only to see that his eyes were trained on the ground. Morgan knew that he had to feel guilty since he was the one that sent them into the field in the first place. Once he turned back around to the screen he heard something that he didn't hear the first time, the faint, sickening sound of JJ screaming in the background. This was just before Morgan started asking them what was going on and if they were okay. There was another cracking sound of the bat, just like he remembered, and then there was only silence for a few seconds.

"Is that it?" Hotch asked Morgan, but the agent shook his head.

"There's more." He told them and everyone was silent as they waited to see what else was going to happen.

_Don't bother looking for them because you'll never find them. I suggest rather than wasting your time searching, you just pray that they have the strength to get through this. Oh and next time you put agents undercover I suggest at least changing their last names. Good luck, FBI._

"Oh my god…" Garcia let out in a shaky voice, "He has them, what are we going to do?"

"We treat this just like any other case. We can't afford to be too involved in this. Rossi call the police and get them into that neighborhood. We need to check out the abduction site. Morgan, go find Prentiss and go interview the people at the party." Hotch told everyone, "Garcia is there any way that you can find out who's voice that is?"

"I can run it through the system and see if I get a match, but voices are never as specific as fingerprints so it might not be easy to find." Garcia told him, sounding slightly discouraged.

"Okay well if you get a hit, call me. Also get as much dirt as you can on anyone that lived near them, any information is good. I'll be in Strauss' office, so I can get authorization to take this case." Hotch nodded at everyone and walked out. Rossi followed, leaving Morgan and Garcia alone.

"I can't even believe this is happening. What do you think he's doing to them?" Garcia asked, her eyes were wide behind her glasses and he saw her lip quivering slightly.

"He tortured the others…odds are they're okay for now, but in a couple hours he'll probably start. We need to find them soon."

"They'll take care of each other though, right?"

"They will." Morgan nodded and sighed heavily, "This was never supposed to happen. They're the two youngest on the team and now they've been kidnapped. It's not fair."

"It never is." Garcia shook her head, "Now get out there and try to find them."

"Thanks babygirl." Morgan gave her a comforting look before walking out the door and searching for Prentiss so that they could go interview the people at the party.

* * *

JJ was sitting on the couch in their fake living room with an icepack over her eye. It really wasn't helping with the stinging pain that she still felt on her cheek, but she wasn't going to tell Reid that because he had been so worried about her. She knew that her eye was swollen, but she couldn't bring herself to look in the mirror and see how bad it was. At least now Reid wasn't here to see her like this; he had gone to talk to Hotch on the phone. She smiled, wondering how that conversation was going because Hotch had seemed really mad when it happened. Just as she stood up and was about to get up and check on him, Reid walked back inside with Hotch behind him, but the older agent was dressed in a light blue police uniform.

"Hotch…what are you doing here?" JJ asked him, putting down the ice pack that she had been holding on her face. "And why are you dressed like that?" A smile creeped onto her face, it was weird seeing their unit chief wearing the police officer uniform. He looked awkward in it, like he wasn't comfortable.

"I couldn't come dressed in a suit, they'd be suspicious. So we decided to scare him a little by having a police officer come, but I didn't want just any officer coming so I volunteered." Hotch told her, "How are you?" His chocolate brown eyes glinted with concern.

"I'm fine." JJ shrugged, moving her hair out of her eye so that he could see it.

"Yea, it looks like it's actually healing pretty good already." Hotch told her, examining her eye. "Your cheek is bruised too." He paused, looking angry. "If I had been there I swear that that Brian guy..." He stopped himself and sighed.

"But it's swelling, isn't that a bad thing?" JJ asked, looking at them with her good eye. She saw Reid step towards her to examine it himself.

"Actually swelling is one of your body's defense mechanisms. Cells dilate blood vessels causing more blood to rush to the affected area." Reid saw JJ's confused expression and carried on, "It's important to the healing process of your eye as long as you perform RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation."

"Umm…okay. Thanks Spence." JJ looked over at Hotch, "So how long are you staying?" She asked, sitting back down on the couch. Reid sat next to her and Hotch sat in the chair that was across from them.

"For a little while. We have to make sure everyone sees, so I left the lights flashing on." Hotch gave JJ a quick smile before carrying on. "So tell me what happened, Morgan was the one who was listening when it was going on."

"Well when we first met Brian, he wouldn't shake my hand when I introduced us, but when Reid said something he looked completely calm and comfortable. That was what first made me a little suspicious so I told Reid to go check him out."

"And…?" Hotch looked at Reid.

"He was very polite and relaxed around me. He likes sports so I had to tell him I played baseball to build rapport." Reid told Hotch and JJ let out a little giggle when he said he had to tell Brian he played baseball. Reid rolled his eyes at her, playfully before continuing. "Morgan told me to call JJ back over and I did, but right when she came over Brian tensed up."

JJ took over, "He was rude to me so I confronted him about. I asked him if he had a problem with me, but he didn't answer and Morgan told me to keep pushing so I told him that he couldn't act that way to me. He walked outside I guess so we wouldn't disturb the party and we followed. He started yelling back at me, telling me that I was supposed to be inferior because I was a woman and that I was wrong for introducing Reid without his permission. I told him I had rights and I could do whatever I want and reminded him that his own wife introduced him when we had met, but he said he gave her permission to do that. By then we were both yelling and I told him to go back to the 1950's or something and that he was a little man afraid of women." JJ smirked and then her face hardened. "Then he just…"

"I got it." Hotch nodded, "I'm sorry JJ, I wasn't expecting any of them to be dangerous. We can pull you guys out of this now if you want."

"No. Now we're close to finding the unsub. I mean, it could be Brian….or Ray….or Fred. They're all creepy guys and valid suspects." JJ shook her head, "We have to stay in this until the end." She smiled at him. "I'm fine, honestly."

"Alright, but I'm warning you. I'm sure that by now the unsub whichever neighbor it is, has noticed you so you need to be on the watch and if anything else happens. I'm pulling you out of this." Hotch told JJ, sincerely.

"No you're not, Hotch."

"Don't argue with me." Hotch's voice was raised slightly, but JJ didn't flinch and her cold gaze was firm.

"We're FBI agents. We can handle whatever happens and I don't know about Reid, but I'm not scared of this unsub. I want to go through with the rest of this so even if something else happens, I'm not leaving."

"JJ." Hotch gave her a cold look, but she just stared straight back at him. Why was he being so protective? They were trained for this kind of pressure and dangerous situations. Hotch needed to believe in them and support them.

"Neither am I." Reid spoke up next to her and JJ felt her heart pounded with pride. She smiled back at him before turning to Hotch again.

Hotch sat in silence for a few moments. "Fine," He muttered, "but I won't be happy about it."


	6. Emotions

**So when I finished the first half of this story I realized that JJ was getting a lot more of the attention then Reid. I figured that I would have to even it out so for all you Reid lovers out there the second half has some conflict in there for him. Hope you like it :) **

* * *

After a few minutes of boring conversation, Reid looked up when JJ excused herself from the room to call Will, leaving him and Hotch alone. He felt awkward seeing Hotch like this, not only without professional clothes on, but with that fatherly protectiveness of them. Normally the man was stern and concerned for the well being of everyone on the team, but now it felt like he was being especially protecting over them. Reid assumed it was because of how young they were, but he could also see that there was something between him and JJ. A connection they had that he didn't really understand. It seemed like they had history somehow… Reid quickly decided that he didn't want to dwell on that thought for long; it was their business he didn't want to get into it. He glanced over at Hotch who had now crossed his arms over his chest.

The emotionless man sat forward and looked up at Reid, "How do you think she's really doing?" He asked. Both Reid and Hotch knew that JJ was a master at hiding her emotions even from profilers. Sometimes it was impossible to tell what the blonde woman was thinking or how she was feeling. Reid assumed that she had gotten that skill from having to compose herself in front of the media for more than 7 years now.

"I think she's fine. I know how she feels though, like we owe it to these neighbors to find out the truth since we've butted ourselves into their lives." Reid paused for a couple short seconds, "She might be a little more intimidated then she lets on though. I mean, a guy did just give her a black eye."

Hotch nodded at him and there was a short silence before he spoke again, "Is she still having problems with the...dogs?"

Reid wasn't sure if JJ wanted him to tell Hotch, but he knew that he couldn't lie convincingly enough to fool Hotch anyway so he gave in and nodded. "I think so. Whenever I even bring up dogs I notice her behavior becomes…"

"Uncomfortable?" Hotch nodded, "Yea I've noticed that too, but it's been a few years now and that's the one thing that worries me; that she isn't planning to get over it, you know? I think she just keeps pushing it aside over and over, she doesn't want to deal with it...What about you? Are you still having…problems?"

Reid shrugged and let out a profound sigh, "Every now and then I remember what it was like when he injected me and for a second, just _one second_ I just crave to feel the rush it gave me again, but then I remember the hell that happened after I woke up and the feeling goes away just as quickly as it came."

"And the nightmares?" Hotch asked him, raising one of his eyebrows inquisitively.

"Those are completely gone. Tobias is just a memory now, not a nightmare." Reid smiled; glad that he could move past it. "I think JJ feels the same way, but I can imagine that an addiction is easier to get rid of then a fear that has been burned to your core."

Hotch shrugged, "That whole case really took its toll on you two." He sighed and glanced up at the clock. "I think it's time that I left; we've probably scared Brian out of doing anything else. Assuming that he is the unsub he knows not to overstep his boundaries."

"You should probably go tell JJ you're leaving too." Reid nodded down the hall to the room that JJ had entered to take her call.

Hotch gave Reid a nod before walking down the hall and knocking quietly before entering JJ's room. Reid was expecting it only be a few minutes of a goodbye, but by the time Hotch finally came out of her room it had been at least 15 minutes. What had they been talking about? "I'll see you two later, okay?" He gave Reid another nod of encouragement and then walked out the front door. A few minutes later, Reid heard the sirens start up again, but as Hotch pulled out the sound faded away. Deciding to make it his business now, Reid walked down towards JJ's room. What could she be keeping from him that she had told Hotch? He knocked lightly on her door.

"Come in." He heard JJ say from the other side so he slowly pushed the door open with a smile.

"Hey, how's your eye?" Reid smiled and sat down on her bed next to her. He examined her closely, nodding. Her eye was already yellowing around the edges and he knew that that was one of the first steps of the healing process.

"You tell me." JJ gave him a small smile.

Reid nodded, somehow knowing that she was going to say that. "It's yellowing which is a good sign, it means your red blood cells are already healing themselves. It should clear up in the next few days if you keep ice on it."

JJ grinned brightly, "Good."

"What did Will say?" Reid asked, smirking. He had always known her husband to be very protective and defensive of his wife.

"He was furious." JJ laughed lightly, "He said he was going to come down here and well…" She stopped, "I guess you don't need to know the rest, so let's just say that he was pretty mad."

"Are you sure you want to stay? Hotch thinks this is going to get dangerous now that we're bringing on all this attention to ourselves." Reid slouched forward on the bed.

"Yes. We're seeing this through Reid. Plus I have you to protect me, can it get any better than that?" JJ joked, ruffling his hair quickly with her hand.

Reid chuckled too, "Got that right." He rolled his eyes and then decided to cut to the chase. "What were you and Hotch talking about?"

"When he came in? Oh I was still on the phone with Will so he just waited until I finished and then he just told me to be careful, not to take unnecessary risks. You know all that good stuff." JJ smirked and Reid knew that she was trying to read his expression so he kept it as blank as possible.

"He seems really protective of you."

"I know…maybe it's because I'm a woman." JJ rolled her eyes, "Men are so sexist. I can take care of myself, how many times do I have to prove that to you guys?"

"But JJ, it seems like more than that. Is there something between you guys that you haven't told me yet...?" Reid asked her and she tilted her head. He saw her open her mouth to answer, but they were interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Reid glanced down at his watch. It was 8:30. Who was knocking on their door this late?

"I'll go get. You stay here. I'll be right back." JJ picked up her earpiece off the nightstand and put it in quickly before walking out of the room.

Just in case it was Brian, Reid poked his head outside the door. He watched carefully as JJ pulled the door open. Standing before her on the porch was Gale, the woman who lived next door and was married to Ray. The older woman looked distraught and worried so Reid walked out of his room. He tried to act as nonchalant as possible.

"Hey baby, when are you coming back to…" Reid trailed off, purposely. "Gale? What's wrong?" He asked, putting a concerned look on his face. JJ's face was painted with the same emotion and the both listened carefully as Gale panted.

"Our…dog…just got out…" Gale tried to catch her breath and JJ shot Reid an annoyed look. "He…isn't…trained so we…don't want anyone…to get hurt." She told them.

Reid saw JJ's behavior change again, but he didn't say anything. He couldn't…they were undercover. "What do you mean he isn't trained?"

"We haven't trained him at all. We just got him from the ASPCA and he hopped the fence, but we aren't sure if he'll bite or…you know. We don't know if he's that kind of dog, so we were going to ask you guys if you could help us and some of the neighbors look for him?" Gale asked, looking at them hopefully.

Reid could tell that JJ wanted to refuse. She didn't look as confident as she usually did, but this was something they could miss/ They had to take every opportunity they could to figure stuff out about these people. "Oh yea, sure we'll help. I'll just go grab our coats really quick." Reid walked into the kitchen and grabbed their two jackets.

"Oh dear, Jennifer. What happened to your eye?" Gale asked as Reid rejoined them and helped JJ put her coat on.

"Oh…" JJ was completely distraught now. She'd lost her touch ever since the dogs had been brought into the picture, "Well Spencer and I were in the backyard and well we were playing soccer." JJ shot him a playful glare, "Because he _always_ comes up with these brilliant ideas and he accidentally kicked it straight into my face."

"And that's why I quit playing soccer after 4th grade." Reid put his arm around her, lovingly. "Sorry Jayje." He hugged her tightly and she smiled.

"I'll get you back." JJ rolled her eyes and pulled herself away from him with some playful sass. Gale smiled for a moment and then her eyebrows creased with worry again.

"Okay so we were just going to spread out and look because really this dog could be anywhere." The woman told them as they walked down the steps.

"What kind of dog is it?" JJ asked, sticking her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

"A pitbull. His name is Ace." Gale told them, quickly and Reid saw JJ shake her head.

"You have _got _to be kidding me." JJ muttered under her breath and Gale turned back towards them, looking at JJ.

"What was that?"

"Oh _nothing_." JJ retorted a bit crossly, causing Gale to stalk away to where her husband was waiting on the sidewalk. Reid looked over at JJ only to see that she has a trouble look on her face.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine…" JJ told him, but Reid knew that was one of her shields where she lied just to get out of talking about it. He sighed, not wanting to push her right now.

"You can go talk to some of the neighbors if you want instead of looking. That's what we're here to do anyway." Reid told her and smiled a little bit when he saw relief flood her ice blue eyes.

"Okay." JJ gave him a grateful look, "Thanks Spence."

Reid watched her walk away towards all of the other women who were standing near a streetlight. He walked through the bushes with a flashlight. "Morgan? Hotch?" He whispered to whoever was listening to them back at the station.

_Emily, actually. What's wrong, Reid?_

"Are you listening to JJ's conversations too? She's supposed to be finding out a lot of information from all the wives."

_Yeah, right now they're all complaining about…men being lazy and selfish. Sounds about right to me. _

Reid smirked, glad to hear her sarcastic humor again. "Can you just tell me what she's doing every now and then? I don't want to let her out of my sight because I know she's kind of…vulnerable right now." He told Emily in confidence that she would honor his request.

_Sure thing, Reid. Over and out._

Reid chuckled and then continued searching through the bushes until he heard something behind him. It sounded like someone walking, but he wasn't sure. "Anyone there?" He called out.

"Just me." Reid saw the outline of a figure walk out in front of him. He narrowed his eyes only to see the disgusting face of Brian, the man that had hit JJ.

"Brian." Reid spat, glaring fiercely at the man.

"Hey look I came over here to tell you that I'm sorry about yesterday and I saw you called the police so I swear nothing like that will happen again." Brian told him. His behavior looked genuine, but it was hard for Reid to tell when it was this dark.

"Your _damn right,_ it won't. You won't come anywhere near my wife or I will call the police again and they will arrest you ass so fast that you won't have time to put on your toupee."

Brian looked completely confused and he touched his head, self-consciously. "How did you know that I had a toupee?" He asked, suspiciously.

"Did you get the message, Brian? Or do I need to call the police right now?" Reid asked, threateningly. He didn't know what had taken over, but he felt more powerful and in control then he had ever felt in his whole life. It was probably the defensiveness over JJ because she meant the world to him, she was his best friend.

"No…I got it."

_You tell him, Reid. That dumb rat…_

Reid tuned out the rest of Emily's rant because he was starting to walk through the bushes with Brian to get back to where everyone else was. Brian was a strong guy and Reid didn't feel comfortable being alone with him after threatening him like that.

_They all split up just now because someone thought they heard the dog. JJ's breathing really hard, gosh, she sounds like hyperventilating. There's a growl…I think she found the dog, but she hasn't said anything. She isn't moving._

Reid glanced back at Brian and then started walking faster. He would have called out for JJ, but he didn't want to tip anyone off that they had earpieces in or scare the dog that JJ was near.

_Wait…something's happened. There's footsteps. _

Reid heard her press a button and he knew that it probably made it so that JJ could hear what she was saying now.

_JJ! Watch out! _

Reid heart was pumping violently and he started to jog through the bushes until he found the group of all the neighbors again, but no sign of JJ. They were all standing around and Reid started to walk away from the group when he heard a scream in the distance, JJ's scream.

_There's shuffling and growling, but she isn't saying anything! Someone has her, but the dog…Reid I can't tell what's happening. Get over there! _

* * *

There was a beeping noise coming from somewhere, probably from the camera that was pointed down on them. It was beeping every three seconds and Reid couldn't sleep or think because of the timed repeated beeping.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

Reid lifted his hands over his ears, hoping that it would block the noise out. It didn't. He could still hear the faint sound of the beeping. Every three seconds. "Please…" He muttered, realizing that this was the first time he had spoken in hours. Had it been hours? Or days? He glanced down at JJ who looked pale and was still, after all this time, trembling. Had her condition worsened?

_Beep….beep….beep…_

He lifted his hand over to JJ's forehead and felt it, but it was no comfort. She had a fever now, her infection was setting in and her immune system was too weak to fight it off because of malnutrition. If the second round didn't start soon JJ might be too sick to continue this sick game. Reid couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

Reid glanced down at his own wounds, but they were already healing. It wasn't fair that JJ was always taking the fall for him. He would repay her; he would get her out of her no matter what it took. The first step was to tell his team what was going on without tipping off the unsub. He would have to be casual and obscure. He decided to go with the confused, weak and crazy act so he started to mumble to himself.

"JJ…her son…what would he say to me if I…if I let her die?" Reid asked himself, trying to embed JJ's condition into his crazy 'rants'. "I…should have...worked harder. I could have saved…her. Her infection…" He muttered, "Her infection…is going to…kill…her…if I don't…do something. She has a family…and a husband…what do I do?"

_Beep….beep….beep…_

"She has..." Reid paused, pretending like he was having trouble remembering the statistic even though he knew it like the back of his hand. "24 more hours...without…treatment…before…" He shook his head, "I won't let that happen. She'll survive. We _will_ survive."

_Beep….beep….beep…_

_"Shut up!" _Reid massaged his temples gently with his fingers. This would really sell the crazy thing he was trying to get across. He hoped that at least one of the team members would get his message. The beeping was now, actually starting to get on his nerves. The timing was perfect every time, every three seconds that beep would make him flinch. He just wanted it to stop…more than anything.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

"MAKE IT STOP! _PLEASE!"_ Reid called out to no one in particular. He felt guilt bubble in his stomach as he saw JJ stir next to him. He hadn't meant to wake her up and he knew that now that her infection was getting worse she would be in a lot more pain. He turned his attention to JJ now, trying to ignore the beeping noise in the background.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

Reid gulped and looked over at the blonde as her eyes fluttered open. The once crystal clear blue eyes were now clouded with pain and hurt. He wasn't sure how much more of this JJ could handle, she would go through it no matter what, but her body wouldn't be able to take much more pressure. "JJ…" He started, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm sore, but everything almost feels…numb." JJ started to sit up, but then stopped and touched her hand to her head. "I feel…dizzy too." Her face paled and she looked like she was going to throw up right then on the spot.

Reid knew that her infection was getting worse. Dizziness, fever, shaking, numbness of affect limbs. Those were all symptoms of a severe infection; it was escalating a lot faster than he had previously though. She might have less than 24 hours if the medic didn't treat her after round two.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

"PLEASE." Reid covered his ears and leaned forward over his knees. "Stop it!" He shook his head, glancing at JJ who looked concerned. At a time like this, s_he _was concerned for _him._ "Sorry…" He muttered, "It's nothing."

"No Spence. We're in this together. Tell me what's wrong." JJ gave him a persuasive look, but this time he didn't give in. She didn't need to be worried about him, her condition was getting too serious.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

"Oh my god…" Reid shook his head and sighed. This time when he looked back at JJ he was met by her glare.

"Reid." She used his last name again, that was twice in one day. This was getting serious. "Please just tell me what's bothering you. Maybe I can help. I helped you while he was hurting you last time, so why don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you, JJ." Reid sighed, gulping hard. The beeps were coming and he knew it, the anticipation was killing him.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

Reid flinched and JJ gave him a confused look. "The beeping. Every three seconds, it's giving me a terrible headache. I can't get it out of my head. We need to get it to stop, _please…"_ He let out a shaky sigh, sweat dripping to the floor from his forehead.

"Spence…?" JJ asked, confused.

"What…what's wrong?" Reid asked, tilting his head. Why was she looking at him like that? Confusion? Sympathy? What was she getting at? He held his breath as he waited for the next series of beeps to come. He closed his eyes and bit his lip so hard he swore he tasted his own blood.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

"JJ!" Reid shook his head and bent over. "It needs to stop. It's driving me crazy. I can't take it anymore. We need to find out where it's coming from and stop it. We need to get it to stop so I think straight and try to help you, but now…I just can't even concentrate."

_Beep….beep….beep…_

It was early and Reid gave JJ a pleading look, "Please JJ. Help me out here, give me some answers. What are you thinking?" He asked, quickly. He had no idea when they were going to come now since those beeps had been one whole second early.

_Beep….beep….beep…_

Reid whimpered and buried his face in his hands. He looked up at JJ when he felt her touch his shoulder with a light tap.

"Spencer." JJ stared straight at him and her blue eyes were full of concern. "There is no beeping."


	7. At The End of The Day

**Sorry for waiting so long. I had writer's block for a couple days. I made sure to make this chapter pretty long though to make up for it. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

William LaMontagne was a very heated man. JJ knew he was that way and she had always like that about him, saying no to people when she couldn't, complaining to companies about customer service. She had never realized how nice it was to have a man take care of those things, but now being on the end of the detective's hot temper, she found it a little less attractive. The phone call had started fine, she had just explained what had happened without compromising their location or the person who had hit her, but Will hadn't been satisfied.

"Are you sure you're okay? Out there who is supposed to protect you? Reid?" Will asked with a hint of sarcasm present in his voice. JJ felt slightly defensive over Reid, they had been best friends before JJ had even met Will and she really believed that if it came down to it Reid would risk his life for her. She knew she would risk her life for him in an instant.

"Yes, Will. Reid and I are looking out for each other and the team can listen to everything do. I promise I'm safe, so just try not to worry too much." JJ tried to assure him, but from a sigh that she heard on the other line she knew that he was still slightly angry. At whom and for what, she didn't know.

"JJ. I don't like this undercover thing. It sounds like you're in danger to me and I want you to come home. Can't they just end this early? Once an agent gets hurt the bureau must know that they can't force you to stay." Will pointed out and JJ was reminded of the conversation she had just finished with Hotch, where she had refused his offer to leave.

"I'm not leaving, Will. There's something going on here and if we end it now, more people will die. You need to get some perspective here and try to step into my shoes. What would you do?" JJ decided to turn the conversation back on him. He was a police officer and he had to have been situations like this where he had to think about the greater good over himself.

"Would I pick my job over my family?" Will asked, his voice was raised slightly even though they were only on the phone. "I wouldn't because I know what my values are and what I need to do to be a good father to Henry."

JJ paused, trying to process what he had just said. Was he accusing her of being a bad mother? "I'm not sure what you mean…" She started, "but I am a good mother. I do what I can for Henry's sake and I think one day he'll be proud to know that his mom is out there saving the lives of other people and stopping the bad guys."

"You are a good mother…when you're home." Will grumbled, spitefully. His voice sounded rough and unfriendly, not like the husband she had come to know and love. This conversation had started out normal, but now she could tell they were getting down to underlying issues that they should have talked about earlier. She heard shuffling on the other line and assumed that he was going outside to the back porch of their house so that Henry wouldn't hear.

"I don't understand what you want me to do here. You want me to leave all these people here defenseless just because you want me home to cook dinner for one night?" JJ shook her head, even though she was aware that he couldn't see it. "I don't know what to tell you."

"Last week Henry and I went to the park," Will started the story and JJ knew where he was going to go with it, "he fell off his bike and he cried and cried. He yelled out for his mommy and there was nothing I could do for him. I couldn't give him any comfort because all he wanted was for his mom to hold him…and make it all better. Don't you want to give him that? Don't you want to be there for your son?"

"Will." JJ said between her teeth. She was fuming now and a new hotness flooding into her face made her assume that her cheeks were probably bright red. She clenched her free hand tightly in a fist at her side. "You can't use our son as a pawn in this. There were times in everyone's childhood when their mom or dad wasn't there. If I leave here now and let another innocent woman die, what do you think _her_ son will feel like? Will he wish that his mom was there for him?" JJ remembered her own father's death, it had happened a couple years after her sister's suicide. The first death had shaken the whole family up, but especially her father. He had started to isolate himself from the rest of the family, not being able to get away from that fact that she had left them…on purpose. He had died in a car accident on a busy highway in the middle of the night. No one had even been notified until later the next day after he had already died in the hospital.

Will paused for a beat before launching back into the argument. "That's not the point!" He exclaimed into the phone, making JJ flinch slightly at the noise that filled her ear so suddenly.

"Then what is the point?" JJ questioned while making sure to keep her voice as calm as she possibly could because she was hoping that by keeping her demeanor unruffled maybe he would cool down too.

"You aren't home," Her husband started with a softer tone now, "you never are and…sometimes I just think that this family needs to be your top priority." He paused for a moment and she knew that he was probably going to say something else so she stayed silent. "Because I know that it isn't now."

"Will…I thought we agreed that work was who I am and if we change that…"

"What'll happen JJ?" Will was yelling again. "Are you really trying to convince me that not being at home with your husband and son is a good thing?" He snapped at her. She heard the edge in his voice and bit her lip with anxiety.

"It won't be the same is all I'm saying." JJ told her husband, finding herself scared to say anything else. She knew that right now Will was angry and she needed to be careful about what she was saying to him.

"I don't care! Before you come home, you need to get your priorities straight. Work or family…" Will's voice was scornful and he sounded like he meant what he said, but she still couldn't believe he was actually going to make her pick.

"You can't make me choose between the two things I love! You're being unreasonable! William LaMontagne I swear if you keep doing this to me, one day I won't just put up with it!" JJ decided to put her foot down and put her man back in line.

"If you do that then I'll just leave!" Will shouted into the phone, making JJ pull it away from her ear. "With Henry." She heard him add when she put the phone back to her ear. Her stomach dropped as she registered what he saying. He didn't have the guts to do that. Even he knew that JJ was a good mother.

"No you won't!" She yelled back, hoping that the walls were thick enough that Reid and Hotch couldn't hear her yelling into the phone.

"JJ, I swear to God I will!" Will barked at her and even through the phone she heard the sincerity in his voice. Anger bubbled inside of her. She wished that she could look him in the eyes right as she said her next comment.

"You're a self-centered asshole! I hope you know that!" Before he could even say anything else JJ pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up. She didn't want to hear anymore of his yelling. He was not being the guy that she fell in love with. Now she was just starting to realize what had just surfaced between them, all this tension that had built up and was now just being brought into the light. Why hadn't they just talked before? Was he really serious about taking Henry and leaving? Tears pooled in JJ's eyes blurring her vision, she couldn't imagine a life without Henry or Will. They meant everything to her…it was just that her work was a part of her…a part that she didn't want to let go and it wasn't fair for Will to make her. She walked into the bathroom and looked into the mirror only to be a little surprised at what she saw. A blonde woman was staring back at her; only this woman's left eye was blacked out and swollen with the edges yellowing. Her light blue eyes were hollow with a sense of emptiness that could be seen in them. Tears were flowing out of her eyes creating tears stains on her cheeks. This woman was broken, shattered even. She was _not_ Jennifer Jureau because Jennifer Jureau wasn't weak, she wouldn't let any man boss her around and make her feel the way that the woman in the mirror seemed to be feeling. A new sense of determination surged through the blonde and she straightened up, still staring at the reflection. _This_ was Jennifer Jureau and she was strong.

JJ walked back into the bedroom only to be surprised to find Hotch sitting on the bed. "Hotch," She greeted him, "I ummm…" She remembered in her reflection that tear stains had been on her face, hopefully he wouldn't notice.

"What's wrong?" The senior agent asked her. She tried not to feel surprised; he was a profiler after all. She should have known that he would notice the faint tear stains that were etched on her cheeks. He stepped towards her with his dark eyes full of concern.

"I just got off the phone with Will." There was no point in lying to him, plus he had gone through the same this with his ex-wife. Maybe he could help her out and give her some advice on what to do. "He was worried, but then we got into the whole…I'm not home enough stuff again." She found it surprisingly easy to confide in her boss like this, probably because of the way that he nodded along to what she was saying like he was actually interested. "And he gave me an ultimatum…work or family. I told him I wouldn't choose, but he said if I didn't then he would leave and take Henry with him." She felt tears wanting to surface again, but this time she wouldn't let them flow, not in front of him.

Hotch sat completely still for minutes. His eyebrows were wrinkled and his face was contorted which let JJ to believe that he was deep in thought. Finally, breaking the long silence he spoke. "I know exactly what you're going through." He started, "I know Will has a temper…I've seen it and there's a good chance that all of that could have been anger talking, but you still need to talk to him about it. Explain to him how you feel and let him know that you both are going to have to compromise about this."

JJ nodded thoughtfully and sat down on the bed next to him. "I just don't want him to leave..." A tear slipped out of her eye and she wiped it away as quickly as she could. The thought of Will and Henry leaving made her feel awful.

"He won't. No matter how bad it seems right now, Will is and always will be crazy about you." Hotch shook his head.

"How can you be sure? What if he really does want to leave…?" JJ vented her worries to him.

"You really know when someone loves you because they're the only one that can make you cry." Hotch looked at her, glancing at the fresh tears that she felt running down her cheeks. "You shouldn't worry. I'm sure you guys will figure it out."

JJ sniffed and gave Hotch a small smile. "Thank you, Hotch. It's weird to think that our lives are pretty similar." She saw him give her a confused look so she elaborated. "You had problems with Haley like I'm having with Will. You and I both have children so those cases where children are targeted…I know we're both uncomfortable. You went through a loss and so did I." She thought of her sister for a moment and resisted the urge to grab the necklace that was hanging around her neck.

"Wow…I guess you're right." Hotch's eyes gleamed with realization.

"It's actually nice to have someone to talk to…to ask for advice." JJ gave him a grateful look and then continued, "You know if you ever need someone to talk to I can return the favor."

Hotch gave her a nod, "I'll hold you to that." He gave her one of his rare smiles and stood up. "Well I came in here to tell you that I was leaving, are you sure you're okay? It's not too late to pull you out of this yet…" He hinted to her that he wanted her to leave, but she didn't back down.

"I'm fine and I already told you how I feel, Hotch. I'm not leaving, not yet anyway." JJ stood up and led him back towards the door. "I'll talk to you later, probably once we finish this whole case, okay?"

"Sure JJ, whatever you need." Hotch nodded at her and then walked into the living. She heard Reid say something and then the front door opened and shut. JJ sat back down on the bed her head flooding with various thoughts. What would she say to Will when she got home? Should she be worried about Brian being the unsub? Were her and Reid in danger without even knowing it? Would it have been better for everything if JJ had just agreed to leave? A knock on the door pulled JJ out of her thoughts. "Come in." She said, trying to push the lingering thoughts out of her mind.

Reid walked in, pushing the door open slowly. She wondered why he was moving so slowly, but didn't say anything about it. "Hey, how's your eye?" He asked and sat down next to her on the bed.

JJ put a smile on her face. She didn't want him to know how she felt right now, "You tell me." She teased lightly.

Reid gazed at her and she hoped that he was just studying her eye and not her other expressions. He paused before starting to inform her about the black eye, "It's yellowing which is a good sign; it means your red blood cells are already healing themselves. It should clear up in the next few days if you keep ice on it."

JJ smiled again feeling relieved that her black eye would be gone soon. To her it felt like a sign of weakness, "Good." She replied making sure to let relief be apparent in her voice.

"What did Will say?" Reid asked her. She wanted to look away from him and let her real emotions flood out, but instead she just decided to make something up. Her personal life wasn't anything that they needed to be worried about right now.

"He was furious." JJ let out what she thought to be a convincing laugh, "He said he was going to come down here and well…" She stopped, "I guess you don't need to know the rest, but he was pretty mad." It was believable considering that her husband did have a temper that she knew all too well.

"Are you sure you want to stay? Hotch thinks this is going to get dangerous now that we're bringing on all this attention to ourselves." Reid asked her and she saw him slouch forward. She wondered where this question had come from; it was kind of random considering they had been talking about something completely different just seconds earlier. Something was obviously on his mind.

"Yes. We're seeing this through Reid. Plus I have you to protect me; can it get any better than that?" JJ found herself staring to feel better just by teasing him; it had really lightened her mood considerably since he had come in.

"Got that right." Reid played along with her joke and rolled his eyes playfully. While keeping a smile on his face he carried on, "What were you and Hotch talking about?"

JJ knew she was going to have to lie again, but didn't hesitate because she knew that Reid would notice if she did. "When he came in?" She bought herself some time, "Oh I was still on the phone with Will so he just waited until I finished and then he just told me to be careful, not to take unnecessary risks. You know all that good stuff." She smiled at him, also pleased with how convincing her story had been.

"He seems really protective of you." Reid commented and JJ just smiled, Hotch had always been that way. He was sort of a father figure for her; someone she could go to for advice, but that really wasn't Reid's business.

"I know…maybe it's because I'm a woman." JJ rolled her eyes, "Men are so sexist. I can take care of myself, how many times to I have to prove that to you guys?" This time it was half true, she knew Hotch was protective of her because she was the youngest woman too.

"But JJ, it seems like more than that. Is there something between you guys that you haven't told me yet...?" Reid asked, surprising JJ. Did he think that there was something going on between her and Hotch?

She wasn't sure how to answer that so she paused for a few short seconds only to hear the door bell ring before she even opened her mouth. Relief flooded through her and she looked at Reid. "I'll go get it." She took charge, "You stay here. I'll be right back." Reid nodded and she picked up her earpiece, stuffing it into her ear. JJ walked down towards the door and opened it to see Gale standing in front of her. "Gale, how are you?" JJ greeted the woman with a polite smile, but was silently wondering why she was here so late.

Gale smiled back at JJ anxiously, but before she could say anything Reid said something behind her. JJ looked back at him and smirked, he must have been watching from the bedroom. He mumbled something about her coming back to bed before asking Gale how she was. JJ was slightly annoyed with Reid right now; he had just barged into the conversation for no reason. She could handle herself without him sometimes.

"Our…dog…just got out…" Gale panted and JJ shot Reid an annoyed look to let him know that he shouldn't have injected himself into the conversation like that. "He…isn't…trained so we…don't want anyone…to get hurt." She told them, catching her breath.

At the mention of her dog JJ felt a chill go down her spine. Of course their dog had to have gotten out in the middle of the night, oh and it wasn't trained. What are the odds? She saw flashes of the body in the barn…ripped to shreds there was blood…everywhere. The dogs had charged towards her and the sound of their barking had filled her ears before one set of teeth clamped on her forearm. JJ shook herself out of it and tuned back into the conversation.

"We haven't trained him at all. We just got him from the ASPCA and he hopped the fence, but we aren't sure if he'll bite or…you know. We don't know if he's that kind of dog, so we were going to ask you guys if you could help us and some of the neighbors look for him?" Gale asked them with a hopeful expression on her face.

JJ was just about to politely refuse to Gale and give her a fake excuse for why they couldn't come out and help look, but before she could Reid was already answering her question.

"Oh yea, sure we'll help. I'll just go grab our coats really quick." Reid told her and JJ became even more irritated with him, why did they have to do this right now? The dog wasn't even trained; it could have rabies for all they knew. She really just didn't want to be anywhere near any kind of dog right now, too much was happening in one day.

"Oh dear, Jennifer." Gale looked straight at JJ, "What happened to your eye?"

JJ had almost forgotten about her swollen eye, "Oh…" She tried desperately to think of a story. "Well Spencer and I were in the backyard and well we were playing soccer..." JJ looked back at him with a playful glare, "Because he _always_ comes up with these brilliant ideas and he accidentally kicked it straight into my face."

"And that's why I didn't play soccer." Reid put his arm around her, lovingly. "Sorry Jayje." He hugged her tightly and she smiled to make sure that they're marriage was convincing.

"I'll get you back." JJ teased him and pulled herself out of his grasp. Not only because she was supposed to be teasing him, but also because she was slightly bothered with him in real life. Gale's smile didn't last long before she seemed to remember that they needed to leave.

"Okay so we were just going to spread out and look because really this dog could be anywhere." Gale told them and JJ felt uneasy about the idea of them splitting up.

"What kind of dog is it?" JJ asked, letting curiosity show on her face. It would comfort her to know that this dog was a beagle or golden retriever, something that wasn't threatening.

"A pitbull. His name is Ace." Gale replied and JJ's stomach turned upside down. Pitbulls were known to be large and fairly aggressive dogs, especially if they were untrained and Ace didn't exactly sound like a friendly name either.

"You have_ got _to be kidding me." JJ muttered sarcastically. What were the odds that an untrained pitbull named Ace would have gotten out in the middle of the night? These circumstances brought up suspicion in her mind, but then she remembered the look of genuine concern that Gale had had on her face and knew that she had to be telling the truth.

When Gale heard the soft comment that JJ had made she turned around to face her. "What was that?" The woman challenged with a forceful and dynamic voice.

"Oh _nothing." _JJ had tried her best to not sound sarcastic when she said that, but no matter how hard she had tried it had come out that way, making Gale trudge away from them and across the street to where her husband was waiting with his muscular arms crossed over his chest.

Reid turned to her, his hazel eyes were thoughtful. "Are you alright?" He asked in a consoling tone and she was grateful now for his presence. He was one of the only people who really knew that she still had a fear of dogs.

"I'm fine…" JJ told him because even if she was glad he was asking, she didn't want him to think that she was too scared to handle this. She would do whatever was asked of her even if she really was dreading it.

"You can go talk to some of the neighbors if you want instead of looking. That's what we're here to do anyway." Reid suggested and JJ deduced that he was probably just suggesting that because of her fear, but she wasn't going to protest.

"Okay…" JJ paused to look over at him just to let him know that she was thankful for his suggestion, "Thanks Spence." She added and then headed towards all of the women who were standing near one of the streetlights.

"Jennifer! It's so great to see you again!" One of the wives she had met at the party exclaimed, her name was Mary and she was a single mother that lived across the street. The other three women that were standing near the streetlight were also people that she recognized from the party. First there was Dana, a pleasantly normal woman who lived a couple houses down and had a husband named Bill. The woman standing next to her was Reese and she lived down on the corner of the street. JJ remembered her say something about a boyfriend, but they weren't married yet. The last woman was standing behind Dana, obviously not wanting to be seen. It was the woman named, Lauren who was married to the man that had hit her.

JJ looked back up at Mary who was still waiting for her to respond, "It's great to see you again too. Can you believe this? Who wakes up the whole neighborhood in the middle of the night to find a dog?" She joked and was glad to hear all the other women laugh along with her.

"I don't know, but Bill made me come out here. He said it was a good cause." Dana rolled her eyes and then squinted a little bit while looking at JJ. "Where'd you get _that _shiner from?" She asked and all the other women started to examine her.

"It wasn't Spencer was it? He seemed nice, but you really never know…" Mary gave JJ a concerned look.

"No, Spencer would never hit me." JJ smiled, "It's actually kind of a funny story." As JJ started to tell the story of her husband kicking her with the soccer ball she saw Lauren fidgeting nervously at the back of the group. That woman was lucky that JJ didn't tell everyone about her husband's abusive tendencies.

Mary laughed, "Men." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh my gosh I know!" Reese exclaimed, "Once there was a football game on and we had all these boxes to carry in because we had just moved in, but he just unpacked the TV and watched the game while I carried in all the boxes by myself." She shook her head. "He's lucky I didn't dump his sorry ass right then."

JJ laughed and half-listened to all of the stories that the women were telling about their husbands and boyfriends. A few minutes later she heard a voice start speaking to her from her earpiece.

_Reid is worried about you. It's soo adorable!_

JJ recognized Emily's voice and wished that she could respond, but it would blow her cover if she did so she just listening to the profiler go on.

_He wants me to check in on you…Uh oh. Reid just found Brian in the woods, gotta go check on him. Stay safe._

JJ hadn't realized how homesick she really was until she heard Emily talk. She wanted to go home and hang out with her team and see her son again. They just needed to solve this soon, but this irrelevant small talk with the wives wasn't going to help so she decided to speed things up. "I don't know about you guys…but I don't like the thought of being out here when there's that murder on the loose." She let fear radiate in her voice.

"Oh sweetie," Dana started to comfort her, "the police are taking care of that right now." She cooed.

_"I_ haven't seen any police, I don't know about you guys…" Mary cut in, sounding angry and stressed. This was obviously taking its toll on them.

"I haven't either!" Reese joined in, "You'd think with all these murders they would have some people working on it." She paused and glanced around. "Yesterday night I could have sworn I saw this person standing in the middle of the street. I couldn't see their face, but they were just standing there looking at one of the houses on the other side of the street. It was really creepy, but I didn't call the police because I knew if they didn't come before they weren't coming now."

JJ wished that she could tell the women her secret, that the police were here and that they were among them, but she knew that her cover would be blown so she resisted the urge.

"Wait, wait!" Dana held up her hand and all the other women fell silent, looking around frantically. "Do you hear that?" She asked and all the women paused. There was a growling noise coming from somewhere, it was hard to pin point where, but it was definitely somewhere close.

"Okay let's split up and look so that we can find this dog and go back inside." Mary told everyone and walked towards one of the bushes. All the other women parted different ways and JJ sighed. Splitting up had never sounded like a good idea to her, not when Reid had said it, not now. She turned around and walked towards some trees and bushes growing near a house. It was shadowy over here and knowing that the dog could be close, JJ couldn't control her breathing. She wanted to go back towards the light, but then she would seem like a coward and she didn't want that. Where was Emily? She could really use someone to talk to right now. Suddenly a growl erupted from a bush she was standing next to and JJ froze. Her eyes followed the sound and looked down at the bush only to see the figure of a dog standing behind it. It was baring its teeth at her and the look in its eyes was vicious. She couldn't move. Her whole body was frozen. Between her heavy breathing and the continuous growling of the dog JJ didn't notice the sound of someone walking up behind her.

_JJ! Watch out!_

JJ heard the bush behind her move as someone walked between them towards her. She would have turned around if a snarling dog wasn't staring her down like a piece of meat. A hairy arm wrapped around her and held her tightly so that she couldn't run away. Even though the dog was still growling in front of her she let a scream escape her mouth before the man brought another hand up to her mouth so that she couldn't speak. She tried to get free from his grasp, but he was holding her too tight in his grasp. The dog's growling had gotten louder and now it was inching closer to her. She heard Emily's voice in her ear.

_Where are you? Are you okay? What's going on? Reid's coming I just need to know where you are! Jennifer Jureau talk to me!_

JJ longed to respond to her, but a hand was still covering her mouth. As the dog stepped even closer JJ struggled even more, her worst fear was stepping closer and closer to her.

"Scared of dogs?" A man's voice asked with amusement. "Well then…let's see if Ace here is fun to play with." He stepped closer to the dog, dragging JJ with him who was still squirming in his arms.

_JJ who was that? WHAT IS HAPPENING?_

Emily sounded panicked, but that wasn't as bad as how JJ felt. She couldn't breathe and she felt like her whole body was shutting down as the man pulled her closer to the dog and from the animal's behavior she knew that it was taking their movement as a challenge. The blonde knew that make eye contact with the beast would make the conflict even worse so she kept her eyes glued to the ground. The man's grip was loosening and JJ instantly knew what he was going to do. He let her go and pushed her to the ground next to the dog, which was startled and charged at her before she could even get up. JJ watched the man's figure disappear through the trees just before the dog's teeth clamped down on her stomach. She felt the dog digging its teeth into her and she remembered the smell that she had smelled in the barn that day. Blood. She let out a blood curdling scream.

_JJ, can you hear me? It's Emily. What's happening? Reid's coming._

"The-the-the…" JJ stuttered, not being about to talk. The dog shook its head like he would with a chew toy, expanding the wounds in her stomach. It let go and JJ let out a sigh of relief only to find that it had turned towards her and was lunging towards her neck, for the kill. She screamed again and moved out of the way, making the dog miss it's shot. It let out a half-growl half-bark obviously upset that it had missed its kill. In anger it bit down on the closest thing he could find; her right hand. She let out a scream full of pain, where was Reid? Wasn't he supposed to have her back? Was Will right about him?

_Hang in there, Jayje. He's coming._

All of a sudden JJ saw Reid burst through the bushes and without a second thought he tackled the dog that still had its teeth in JJ's hand. A man was following him, it was Bill, Dana's husband. He crouched down next to JJ and started to tend to her wounds. "Where's Ray?" He called out. The tall, stalky man walked through the bushes and joined Bill at JJ's side. He started to tend to her wounds, making her assume that he had to be some kind of doctor or nurse.

"These aren't bad." Ray concluded, "She'll just need some stitches so I doubt the ambulance will even make the trip to the hospital." He nodded. "We just need to stop the bleeding so she doesn't pass out."

Fred had now joined Reid and helped him restrain the dog which had been wildly lashing out. Once they had finally calmed it down, Fred attached it to a leash and pulled it away from the scene. JJ heard Reid job back over to her and then crouch down beside her. He took her left hand in his, giving her a caring gaze. She could tell he wasn't acting when he was saying this.

"JJ, I'm so sorry this happened. I shouldn't have split up with you. I love you." He told her and she gave him a smile.

"I love you too." JJ told him and she saw some of the women who had now joined them smile. Sirens blared; the sound was getting closer and closer. JJ knew in that back of her mind that Hotch was probably going to return.

"We need to get out into the open." Bill said out loud, glancing down at JJ.

"I'll carry her." Reid looked down at his "wife" and bent over, lifting her off the ground as gently as he could. She let out a wince, keeping her eyes on Reid so that she wouldn't look at the bite mark on her stomach.

"The-the dog…it just…" JJ stared at something in the distance, trailing off of her sentence.

"I know. I'm so sorry. I knew you were scared of dogs and I made you come out here anyway." Reid kissed her forehead and JJ glanced at the three women who were all smiling now with a knowing look on their faces.

"It's okay, Spence. Stop apologizing." JJ smiled and laid her head against his chest as he carried her out of the darkness.

* * *

JJ observed Reid's reactions as she told him that there was no beeping. He was in complete disbelief, but the truth was…it was completely silent other than Reid's ranting. She remembered that he had been having migraines a long time ago and for the longest time he had thought that he was schizophrenic.

"JJ…you don't think that I'm…" He trailed off and for a split second she saw the fear that he felt reflecting in his eyes.

"No. I don't, Spence. You are completely sane, okay? It's just the hunger that's getting to you and it's getting to me too. A second ago I could have sworn that I heard Henry, hell, I thought I saw him." JJ told him in remembrance. It was true a couple minutes ago she thought that Henry was sitting in front of her, but it had turned out to be Reid.

"But this is different, JJ." Reid shook his head and she saw that sweat was covering his face. "This just keeps going. I can hear it right now and it won't get out of my head. I can't tell what's real and what's not real anymore!" He exclaimed.

"I'm real." JJ whispered, "So please…just calm down. Everything's going to be okay."

"How do I know that you're real? What if all of this is just my…imagination?" Reid asked and JJ knew that had was driving himself crazy and he needed to stop before she lost the comforting, caring Reid that she needed right now.

JJ reached over and touched his hand, gently. It felt warm compared to hers. "Can you feel this?" She asked, rubbing his hand with her thumb.

"Yes."

"Then tell me it's not real."

Reid looked at her and realized what had just happened. He was coming back; she saw it in his eyes. "I still hear the beeping though and it won't stop…" He told her, rubbing his temples gingerly with his fingers.

"Hey just look at me, okay?" JJ met his eyes and touched her hand to his cheek. "You aren't crazy."

"JJ…"

"Dr. Spencer Reid. You are _not_ crazy." JJ repeated not giving him enough time to protest. "A little skinny and maybe a little too much of a know-it-all sometimes, but definitely not crazy." She teased and he smiled back at her.

"You know you're my best friend right?" Reid smiled down at her and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead.

"Yea and you're mine." JJ leaned against him.

"I promise we'll get out of this. I won't let anything bad happen to you." Reid put an arm around her and she saw him look down at her again, but this time she didn't meet his eyes because she knew that he was once again trying to see how sick she was. Her head was throbbing and she was sweating even though she felt cold, but Reid didn't need to be worried about her. He needed to focus on keeping his sanity.

"I know." She muttered in reply and was relieved to see him look away from her. He looked up at the camera in the corner and she wondered if he could still hear the beeping or not. She didn't ask though because if he wasn't she didn't want to remind him about it.

Just then the door opened to reveal that Brian was back again. He had a malicious smile on his face and he set down the duffle bag and timer on the ground again. "You guys ready for round two?" He chuckled and JJ curled closer to Reid, wondering what round two had in store for them.


	8. The Tracks of Her Tears

Reid stared defiantly up at the man with a cold hard stare, but Brian didn't even care. His blue eyes were trained on JJ who, to Reid's delight, was also giving the man a death stare. He just smiled and started digging through his bag, but after a few moments he just shrugged and looked at the both of them.

"So how are we going to handle this round? The same as the last?" He smiled and started walking towards JJ, but Reid scooted over to her and quickly blocked Brian from getting to her.

"No. I'm going first this time." He informed the man, matter-of-factly. He wasn't going to let JJ go first again, especially not when she was in a state like this. Brian didn't seem to care, he looked just as delighted as his eyes turned towards Reid.

"Okay, okay. I think you went...40 seconds over?" The man tilted his head to the side, not completely sure if he was right or not, but it didn't even matter to him.

"46 seconds." Reid remembered every one of those seconds perfectly. JJ's story, the knife digging into his skin, the pain that was searing to his core, it was a nightmare that he never wanted to relive. He glanced at JJ again and saw that she seemed to be staring at the wall with a blank look on her face. Reid would have asked what was wrong, but he didn't want to bother her now because she seemed at peace.

"Okay, sure whatever. You're lucky though because this round is going to last for 5 whole minutes so for you it's going to be…" Brian thought for a couple of seconds and Reid resisted the urge to blurt out the answer because he knew that would anger the man. "4 minutes and 14 seconds. Good luck…Dr. Reid." He walked over towards the timer, but turned around before he started it. "Stand up." He barked at the doctor.

Reid was confused and hesitated slightly before struggling to get up off the ground. His ribs ached and he felt a prickling pain coming from the cuts on the bottom of his feet. He was hunched over to make the breathing easier on his lungs and he made a hopeless effort to keep weight off of his feet. Next to the unsub, Reid felt pathetic. He looked over to realize that JJ was now looking at him and her blue eyes were broad with terror.

"What are you going to do to him?" JJ's voice sounded a lot hoarser than the last time she had spoken. They needed to get this round over quickly so that she could get the medical attention she urgently needed.

"Round two is going to be fight. You're going to take me on." Brian smirked at the sight of his opponent and Reid felt hot with anger. "Now I want you to know that if you become dead weight and stop fighting back I'm just going to stop the timer and add it to round three. You have to give me at least an effort." He looked at Reid for moment, "If you win I might decide to give you food…" He shrugged. "We'll see." He looked down at the timer which read 4:14 and once he pressed the button it started counting down.

_4:13….4:12….4:11….4:10…._

Brian charged at Reid, but the genius was one step ahead of the muscular man. He sidestepped causing Brian to run straight towards the wall, he managed to stop himself before running into it. This left the man momentarily confused, that was when Reid took his chance, kicking Brian square in the back. The unsub collided with the wall, but didn't fall. When he turned back around to Reid, the sheer hatred on the man's face intimidated him.

_4:00….3:59….3:58….3:57…._

This time when the unsub charged, Reid didn't have enough time to react. The force that collided into his midsection caused him to go hurtling towards the wall that he had stood in front of only moments earlier. As he crashed into the wall he heard a sickening crack and lifted his hand to touch the back of his head. When he brought his hands back around he saw that they were covered in blood. This brought him to the conclusion that he had probably just cracked his head open. He was snapped back into the fight when he heard the unsub start to taunt him.

"Oh come Spence…" Brian chuckled, glancing at JJ. Reid's blood boiled underneath his skin. JJ was the only person who got the privilege to call him Spence. The _only_ person. Brian wasn't going to take that away, not now, not ever. Reid charged at him, making sure he got as low to the ground as he could. The low opponent always wins in a fight because their weight is more evenly distributed, no matter how big or muscular their challenger was they would win. He dove straight for Brian's legs, making him fall to the ground with Reid on top of him. The young agent lifted his fist up in the air before pounding it down on Brian's face. He felt the unsub wriggling to get free beneath him, but Reid wasn't going to get up. He punched Brian in the chest, making him let out a painful cough.

_3:21….3:20….3:19….3:18…._

Brian kicked up, pushing Reid off of him and to the floor next to him. The unsub jumped to his feet, holding up his fists. When Reid didn't get up he rolled his eyes, "Come on genius or I'll just move on to her." He smirked and nudged the agent with his foot.

"Come on Reid! Keep fighting!" JJ urged him only to have Brian whip around and backhand her hard across the face again. Her head jerked to the side and she sat still for a few moments. Reid was enraged, how dare he hit her like that? The agent got to his feet and ran full speed towards Brian, tackling him to the ground.

Reid was still holding JJ in his arms as the ambulance drove up to them. He looked down and met her eyes, seeing that they were filled with pure fear. Dogs were her worst fear and he had let her go off by herself, just to have to face them. A paramedic hopped out of the ambulance and they laid JJ down on the gurney inside. One examined the bite mark on her stomach while the other hopped out to check the dog. Reid faintly heard the conversation the man was having Carrie about their pitbull.

"Has he had all of his shots?" The paramedic asked, urgently in a rushed tone. The dog was growling viciously during the conversation. Why had Carrie and Fred bought such a vicious dog in the first place? There was no way that this dog had started out nice, it was ferocious.

"Ummm…" Carrie didn't sound sure and there was a soft sound of tags clinging together as she checked to make sure. "He's had...most of them. I think I'm not sure you might have to call the ASPCA or someone to ask…"

"Ma'am. Does he have his rabies shot?" He asked, firmly.

There was another series of clinging noises that came from tags before Carrie responded, "Yes." She told the paramedic and even from where Reid was he could hear the guilt that was in her voice. He shook his head and turned back to JJ whose face was ghostly pale, but Reid knew it wasn't from the wounds, it was from fear. The paramedic was cleaning the wound on her side with a liquid that Reid didn't care to remember the name of. JJ was hurt and she needed him now, especially. He was the only one who knew just how bad her fear of the dogs really was. Her eyes darted to the side to meet his and he kept a relaxed expression on his face even though his hands were still shaking from the adrenaline rushing through his veins. The moment he'd heard the scream and the growling his adrenaline had started pumping, sending him sprinting through the bushed to tackle the dog to the ground. After a few moments he saw her muscles relax, knowing that she was safe in the ambulance now. It only stayed that way for a few moments before Carrie's dog started barking and growling again. When JJ heard it she closed her eyes tightly and gripped side of the gurney so hard that her knuckles were white. Reid rubbed his hand over hers and then hopped out of the ambulance. He walked straight up to Carrie, determined to help JJ.

"Hey Carrie, look…JJ's a little shaken up so could you just take your dog inside now?" Reid looked down at the snarling beast that was at the woman's feet. It bared its teeth at Reid, obviously recognizing the man that had challenging it.

"We just wanted to make sure she's okay…" Carrie looked at Reid with sympathetic eyes, but he couldn't help feeling agitated. This woman had made all her neighbors come out in the middle of the night to look for a vicious dog and it ended up attacking one of them. She wasn't going to get his sympathy and he wasn't going to tell her that it was okay because it wasn't so instead he just gave her a cold stare.

"She's fine, but that dog just bit into her stomach so could you take it inside, _please._" He asked again, this time with a little more force. He almost jumped when he heard a voice speaking into his ear again.

_Is she okay?_

It was Emily again. She always chimed in at the wrong time, he couldn't exactly reply to what she said now and from her talking into his ear he had missed the next thing that Carrie had said. He nodded, hoping that was the right response for whatever she had told him. Luckily she just smiled and handed the vicious dog to her husband. Both of them walked across the street and into their house with their pitbull. _What a pleasant family. _Reid thought sarcastically and then looked around before responding to Emily. "She's getting stitches, but I think she'll be fine or at least her wounds will be. She's really shaken up, you know how she gets." He sighed before carrying on, "I'll try the best I can to help her through it, but I think this time it was too much and it's definitely not helping her get over it."

_I'll talk to her when she gets back, but Reid stay safe out there. That's two things in one night. You two really need to keep on the lookout. Oh and make sure you talk to JJ about what happened when you're alone because I heard a man's voice before the screams._

A chill traveled down Reid's spine. Not only had JJ been attacked by dogs, a man had been there too. Was it the unsub making contact with her? If it was, they were in a lot more danger than Reid had previously thought. This could mean that they were his next targets and this guy was organized, he might be able to pull of abducting two FBI agents.

_Reid?_

He shook the thoughts out of his head. "Yea, sure. I'll talk to her. Thanks, Emily. We'll talk to you later, okay?"

_Sure._

Reid walked back towards the ambulance and climbed inside, sitting down next to JJ again. She looked different from the last time he had seen her. Now she look completely relaxed, almost too relaxed. As he climbed back inside he was greeted with a wide smile. He tilted his head and one of the doctors stopped with his stitches for a moment to talk to him.

"While we were stitching she kept squirming and jerking because of the pain, so we gave her a dose of pain killers. She might be a little out of it for a while, but by tomorrow she'll be fine. And if she feels pain tomorrow she can take these pills. They're not as strong as the one we just gave her so she should feel fine after taking them, just make sure she takes them with a meal. If she doesn't there could be side effects." The doctor informed him and Reid just nodded along, not taking his eyes of JJ, who was now just staring at him. He was a little uncomfortable under her gaze so he shifted in his seat, making her smile slightly. He wondered what she was thinking, but was too worried that it was something about him to ask her about it. 30 minutes passed before both of paramedics were finished with her stitches. They told Reid to keep them clean and make sure she comes back to get them removed in a couple of weeks. With that, they rolled JJ out of the ambulance and helped her to her feet. She was very unsteady so Reid started helping her along, giving the paramedics a quick thank you. He glanced at JJ next to him, it was unlike her not to protest getting help of any kind, but he just assumed it was the drugs. All of their neighbors had gone inside already and Reid was glad because they didn't have to tell the story or explain anything now. They walked up the steps together in an awkward silence that only Reid seemed to notice. He opened the door and helped JJ over to the couch, where they both sat down.

There was awkwardness between them still so Reid spoke, hoping to break it. "Are you thirsty?" He asked, not realizing how lame it was until he said it. Her head turned towards him, but she didn't say anything. She looked like she was deep in thought about something.

"I almost died today." JJ spoke softly, almost in a whisper. He could tell that her mind wasn't all the way there, but she was just now coming to actually realize what had just happened and it was hitting her hard.

"I wouldn't say that you almost died…" Reid shrugged. The dog had bitten her arm and stomach; she really wasn't that close to dying. There was a faraway look in her eyes and so after he spoke he knew that she hadn't even heard him.

"That dog…it was so…wild." JJ seemed to be reliving the experience right before him, so he listened carefully. "I saw it...in its eyes. Its teeth were so…" She struggled to find a word, "white…" Reid was surprised when she described them with just that word, he had expected sharp or vicious. She kept going, "They were the only thing I could see…because it was so dark, just the teeth glowing there in front of me." She spoke slowly and Reid sat forward, listening even more intently than before. "I wanted to run…but he was holding me right there. His breath was disgusting, it smelled like cigarettes." She shook her head, but before she could continue Reid decided he needed to cut in.

"Who?" He asked her, carefully in a gentle monotone.

JJ's head whipped around to look at him and it was then that he noticed that her eyes were puffy and red. She was on the verge of tears and that instantly made him curious because he'd never even seen the woman cry before. "I don't know…He was tall and he smelled terrible…his voice was raspy too, but I couldn't recognize it." She gulped.

"Oh okay. Go on, what happened after that?" Reid wanted her to keep talking. If she got it all out now it would be helpful to her later.

"It was growling…the dog was and then that guy said something…sarcastic in my ear…Emily started panicking and then…he pushed me at the dog. That thing…it just…I couldn't move…I didn't know where you were…" She trailed off and he saw a tear slip down her cheek, but she didn't even bother to wipe it away. Her gaze was staring straight forward.

Reid got up off the couch and sat down on the coffee table in front of her, but she still seemed to be looking straight through him. "Hey…" He touched her hand, but she quickly pulled it away from him. He was slightly hurt, but he didn't let it short. "You're safe now, okay? You're stronger than this…I know you are." He paused when he saw her look at him, "You can't let this win, you can't let this take over and you _can't_ push it away. You need figure this out JJ, right here, right now and I'll be here to help."

"How would you know?" JJ snapped, catching Reid by surprise. "You have no idea what this feels like and you never will. You say that I'm strong and that this isn't as bad as it seems, but it is and it's not fair for you to try to make me face this…right now of all times…I don't want your help and I don't need your help." She stood up, unsteadily and started to hobble out of the room and into her bedroom.

"Damn it." Reid put his face in his hands. Somehow, without even knowing it, he had pushed JJ too far this time. He really just wanted to go talk to her now, but he knew that she was still delicate because of the medication. He would save it until the morning.

_Don't worry about it, Reid. She's just still in shock. I'm sure she'll feel terrible for yelling at you in morning, or at least she'll pretend to be because you have to go back to being married in the morning._

"Oh yea." Reid had almost forgotten that they were still undercover. They had to finish this mission still and find this unsub. He had to talk to her in the morning and resolve things then because even if there was the slightest of hesitation and tension the nosy neighbors would most likely notice.

_Once she gets some sleep, she'll be fine._

"Yea, hopefully. She's acting really weird and I don't know why, that's what I want to figure out. Her eyes…it was like she was looking straight through me. I also saw her cry for the first time…ever. She's usually so strong, you know? But now…it looks like she's falling apart…piece by piece. I just want JJ back because…this definitely isn't her. " Reid stood up only to hear the door of JJ's room shut, making his stomach drop. She had heard everything he had just said about her. Guilt surged through his body, but he didn't know why. It wasn't like had said anything bad about her…had he? She was kind of sensitive right now…anything could have set her off. He walked down the hall and listened carefully as he passed her bedroom. At first there was nothing, but then he heard it…There was the faint sound of crying coming from JJ's room, but it wasn't just light sniffling or something like that, it was more like heart-wrenching sobs. Reid shook his head in disbelief, how could she be crying like that? He couldn't just leave her so he pushed the door open with a slow creek. Her face was buried in her hands and when he walked in she looked up with damp cheeks and puffy eyes. Without a word, he shut the door behind him and climbed into the bed next to her. He wrapped her into a hug and she buried her face into his chest, letting out the tears that she'd been holding in for way too long. He rubbed her back and just let her cry because he knew that was the best thing for her.

"Everything's going to be okay, JJ." He kissed the top of her head, gently. An hour or so later, once she had finished sobbing her medicine caused her to become very drowsy. Reid encouraged her to change, sending her into the bathroom. As she was changing, Reid went back into his room to put his on PJs on and brush his teeth. By the time he came back in to check on her she was already laying back on the bed. Reid walked over and sat down across from her, "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yea…I'm…better." JJ still sounded fragile and vulnerable, but at least now she wasn't crying anymore. That, at least, was a good sign.

"Good. Well I guess I'll see you in the morning, goodnight JJ." Reid started to get up to leave when JJ grabbed his wrist before he could.

"Can you stay?" JJ asked, looking up at him with big blue eyes. He knew that he couldn't say no to her and he never would be able to.

"Oh…uhh…sure." Reid climbed back into the bed with her and she laid her head against his chest, letting out a relaxed sigh. He put his arm around her and fell asleep, glad that she was safe in his arms for now. She was his best friend and he wouldn't let anything else happen to her. If she couldn't be strong he would be strong for the both of them. He was making that promise, not only to her, but to himself.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long. I've been busy lately, but I'll try to start updating more. It's starting to get closer and closer to the best part now. Haha. Hope you like it :)**


	9. Move Along

JJ watched as the fight between these two men unraveled before her. She was surprised at how Reid seemed to be handling it, rather than trying to win with strength, he used his brains. It was brilliant, until he let his guard down and Brian kicked up, pushing Reid off of him and onto the floor next to him. Brian got to his feet and held his fists up, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Reid didn't get up and JJ's stomach dropped, "Come on genius or I'll just move on to her." He smirked and Reid with his foot, but the genius still didn't move.

_3:00….2:59….2:58….2:57… _

She knew that he needed to keep going. There was still 2 minutes left, 2 minutes that he didn't want to have waiting for him next round. "Come on Reid! Keep fighting!" She urged, praying that he heard her and would find the strength to keep going.

Brian whipped around and looked like he was about to say something, but instead of using his words he decided to bring his hand around and slap her across the face for the third time. Her head jerked to the side and all JJ could hear was the loud sound of blood pumping in her ears. She didn't hear Reid get up and she didn't hear the grunt that Brian made when Reid tackled him.

All she heard was the loud sound of a thud that came from the other side of the room. JJ's face still stung slightly from the slap, but she needed to know what was going on because she was hearing the grunting of both the men, trying to get control over their opponent. As she moved her body she was surprised at how hard it seemed to be. Was she really that weak? Before she could mentally answer her own question, her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in shock at the sight that she saw.

"Spence?!" JJ exclaimed, her blue eyes like beacons.

* * *

Light streamed into the master bedroom through a gap in the curtains, causing JJ to open her eyes in discomfort. She stretched a little only to find her leg hit something…someone actually. When she heard a groan beside her, she remembered everything that had happened the night before. The dog, the mysterious man, the stitches and Reid…how he had been so sweet and understanding about everything. It all came rushing back to her at once, but as the memories came so did the pain. She realized that she was lying on top of the arm that had been injured so she moved her position while letting out what she thought was a quiet moan.

"JJ?" She heard Reid's voice sound beside her. He sounded exhausted so she sent a quick glance at the clock on the nightstand beside her. It was only 5:30 in the morning. They didn't need to get up for a two and half more hours.

"Sorry…" JJ started guiltily, "I didn't mean to wake you up." She glanced down at her arm which was throbbing.

"No, no. It's fine. Are you okay?" Reid asked her, sitting up in the bed. His hair was a scruffy mess on top of his head and he rubbed his eyes gently to wake himself up.

"I'm okay. My arm just hurts a little." JJ shrugged, not thinking anything of it. She started to sit up too when she realized just how stiff her stomach felt from the stitches that had been sown into her. She laid back down right away and brought her good arm over to feel the stitches along her stomach.

Suddenly Reid was up and out of the bed, surprising her with his unexpected movement. "The doctors gave you painkillers…" he paused with a realization. "But they said you had to eat with them…"

JJ sighed. "I can wait I guess. The pain isn't really that bad." She lied. Her stomach felt like, if she moved too much, it would just split apart.

"_Or…_" Reid started, turning around to smile at her. "I could make you breakfast." He chuckled, causing her to smile.

"You would do that?"

"For you?" Reid gave her a large grin. "Why wouldn't I?"

He walked out of the room, leaving JJ in the bed just staring straight up at the plain, white ceiling. Her thoughts wandered for a few moments about Will, about Hotch and lastly about Reid. She loved all three men dearly and appreciated their role in her life. Will, her husband, was in charge of making her feel amazing and special when she wasn't at work. Hotch was her role model, he was supposed to push her to her breaking point so that she could become stronger. Reid was her best friend and he would always be there for her, no matter what. She had been starting to feel homesick, but was now finding comfort in thinking about all three of them and the things they'd done for her. With another sigh, she decided to start getting ready for the day. She eased herself out of the bed and then walked into the bathroom, brushing her teeth and hair with care. Next, she walked over to her suitcase which was sitting on the floor near the bed. As she started to bend down her side protested, sending a surging pain through her stomach. Being the stubborn woman that she was, she just pushed through the pain and quickly picked out the clothes that she was going to wear; jeans, boots and a tight blue long sleeve shirt. JJ changed into her clothes slowly, trying to figure out which position would give her the least pain only to discover that the answer was none because they all caused her stomach to throb with pain. Once she finished she immediatley sat down on the bed, brought her hands to her stomach, and moaned. It took a few minutes of relaxation for the pain to finally subside. When it did she reached for her phone that was sitting on the nightstand next to the clock. There was a missed call from Will, Hotch, Penelope and Emily. She also had numerous texts in her inbox.

_Hey call me when you get this, okay? We need to talk… –Will_

_Hey gumdrop. Just called to check on you two, but truth is…I'm worried about you :( so call me back. Love you, girl. –Penelope_

_JJ, how are you? –Emily_

JJ was grateful for Emily because she was the only person who hadn't asked her to call. Honestly, she really still didn't want to talk about it, especially not to Will or Hotch because she knew that they would both react angrily and once again try to convince her to come home.

_I'm okay. Thank god for Reid…and you. Tell everyone I'll call later. –JJ_

Satisfied with the text she sent, JJ stuck her earpiece in her ear with reluctance. She wasn't sure who was going to be on the other side.

_JJ? Hey…how're you feeling?_

Morgan's voice asked from the other end and she resisted the sudden urge to let out a sigh because she was sure that he was still eagerly listening for her response. "I'm fine, Derek." She insisted with an edge of irritation in her voice.

_You always say that._

JJ rolled her eyes. She hated working with profilers sometimes, they always noticed the littlest things that they could black-mail her with later. "Was I lying last time?" This time she let herself sigh. "Look, I appreciate everyone being concerned, but I'm okay…Tell Hotch that I'm staying too…until the end."

_Okay…_

Morgan sounded hesitant, but JJ didn't address it. Instead she started to walk out of her room, limping because of the pain coming from her left side. She tried not to sound like she was struggling because Morgan was listening to her every move. Hotch had probably ordered him to. A smell drifted to her nose as she neared the kitchen. Bacon, eggs and pancakes…that weren't burnt. That was definitely a huge change for her. She walked into the kitchen and saw Reid standing over a pan with crackling bacon in it.

"Oh my gosh…Spence. I didn't know you could cook." JJ eyes widened when she saw the plate of pancakes, sausage and eggs that were laid out on the counter already. How did she not known this about him already?

"It's really not as hard as you make it seem." He teased, turning the stove off and using a spatula to lift the pancakes of the pan and over to a plate that was on the counter. "Plus Rossi has taught us all a lot in his cooking class. _You_ probably just had too much wine."

JJ was caught off guard by his sudden teasing, but she also found it slightly refreshing from all the people trying to pry answers out of her. She scoffed playfully and smiled at him, "Two glasses is not enough to get you drunk, thank you very much." She rolled her eyes and sat down on one of the stools near the counter. Just as JJ was about to dig in, the doorbell rang. "I swear to God, if there's _another_ dog missing in the neighborhood, I'm leaving." She limped out of the kitchen and up to the front door, taking a few seconds to get into character before pulling it open.

Carrie, the woman who had asked them to look for her dog last night, was standing in front of her once again. "Jennifer! I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to come by and apologize for last night." The woman paused for the blonde to accept the apology, but JJ didn't say a word. "Umm…" Carrie tried to recover from the sudden awkwardness, "How are you? Ace didn't hurt you too bad did he?"

_Why can't she just go away?_ JJ asked herself before smiling and answering the woman's question, "No…just a few stitches, but really…don't worry about it. I'm fine and I won't press charges or anything like that, no hard feelings." She found it extremely hard to lie about this, all she wanted to do was voice her opinions to this woman about her devil dog, but with Morgan listening and Reid in the other room she was sure it wouldn't turn out well.

"I'm glad. It thought you might also want to know that we sent Ace back to the pound because he was overly…aggressive so he won't be bothering anyone anymore." Carrie nodded curtly to JJ.

"That's great." JJ tried not to sound rushed. "Well, I would invite you to come inside, but Spencer and I were just about to have some breakfast. Thank you for stopping by though Carrie, I really appreciate it."

Carrie only nodded in response before turning around and walking down the front steps, waving goodbye over her shoulder.

JJ shut the door and hobbled back over to Reid. "Gosh. I'm so glad that we're on cases too much for me to get to know_ my_ neighbors." She rolled her eyes and sat down on the stool again, glad to be sitting down again. That was when the stitches in her side hurt the least.

"What did she want?" Reid asked while chewing on some of the bacon that he'd just fried up.

"To apologize." JJ knew she probably sounded irritable, but she had the right to be. Last night, she had been attacked by the woman's dog. "I _wanted _to give her a piece of my mind." She stabbed at her eggs a little too forcefully.

"Did you?" Reid sounded nervous, obviously unsure of her stability.

"Of course not." JJ smiled up at him, almost teasingly. "Don't you trust me?"

"Yea." Reid smirked and turned around, digging through a plastic bag. He pulled out a small bottle filled with pills, pulling out two of them. "I read the bottle; there aren't really any big side effects…" He gave her a small smile and held out the two pills in his palm.

JJ reached up and took them out of his hand, thankfully. She hoped that these pills would work fast and get the pain to go away before they started their daily activities. After taking a few more bites of food she popped both pills in her mouth, washing them down with some water. She finished the rest of her food a few minutes later, feeling completely full and satisfied. The painkillers hadn't kicked in yet, but she knew that they would in time. "So what are we doing today?"

"The party is tomorrow, but as for today…I'm not sure."

_Emily is coming by to talk to you guys about last night and then after that you guys better start baking…you have to bring some sort of food to this occasion. _

JJ felt violated, they could listen into their conversation whenever they wanted to and it felt like she didn't have any privacy. "When is she coming?" She asked out loud, meeting Reid's eyes.

_She just left, so I'd say she'll be there in…10 minutes._

"At least it's not Hotch again." JJ suppressed a sigh.

_I'm sitting right here, JJ._

The blonde agent bit her lip, "Oh I'm sorry…You could have given me a heads up there, Morgan." She heard laughing in the background probably coming from Morgan.

_Sorry Jayje. Next time I got your back._

JJ shook her head and when she started to stand up a feeling of sudden lightheadedness hit her like a ton of bricks. She touched her hand to her forehead and closed her eyes. Her hand shot out quickly from her side to reach out to grip the counter for support.

"JJ?" Reid moved towards her swiftly and put his arm around her waist. "Are you okay?" He sat her back down on the stool.

Her eyebrows were creased and she still felt like the world was spinning around her. "Y-yea I'm fine. I guess the painkillers must be kicking in."

Reid walked back over to the counter where the bottle was placed. He picked it up and scanned the side effects one more time. "Nausea and vomiting…" He muttered and shrugged. "At least you aren't throwing up." He smiled at her.

_Since when does the genius Dr. Reid miss some side effects labeled on a pill bottle? That should be the easy stuff for you, kid._

JJ rubbed her temples lightly with her fingers, ignoring both men. She wished they would just be quiet for once so she could get her head screwed on straight. Luckily, as if they had heard her they both fell silent. It took a few minutes for her to return to her normal, alert self. "Okay…" She started, "I'm good."

"Okay, well next time you stand up…you might want to do it slower so that you don't get nauseous again." Reid informed her and she gave him a quick nod.

JJ opened her mouth to speak, but before she could the door bell rang for the second time this morning. She groaned and started to stand up, but Reid shook his head at her.

"I got it, JJ. You stay there." He gave her a polite smile and then walked towards the door. Once he opened it, JJ could hear two voices exchanging small talk. One was Reid's while the other was a woman's. A few seconds later they both walked inside and she was relieved to find that the woman's voice she had heard was Emily.

"JJ, you don't return my calls or my texts! What am I supposed to do with you?" Emily joked as she embraced her, being gentle with her small petite body. "How are you feeling?"

"Actually. Everything's going pretty good, the painkillers are starting to kick in now so I'm feeling a lot better than I did this morning." JJ hugged Emily back, giving her a smile. Once the hug finished, JJ let out a quiet sigh. "So you're here to interview me?"

"No so much interview, more like just talking. I want to know what happened because for me, that experience was terrifying to listen to. I can only imagine how bad it must've been in real life." Emily told her.

JJ nodded and started to stand up once again. "Let's go in the living room then." This time when she stood, there was no lightheadedness that came with it. She assumed that it was probably because she stood up as slowly as she knew how, receiving a weird look from Emily. They all sat down on the large couch, with JJ in the middle, Emily to her right and Reid to her left.

"How did it even start?" Emily asked, looking at both Reid and JJ. "I mean, I heard her ask you and I heard all of JJ's sarcastic comments." she chuckled. "Why did you split up though?"

"It was my idea. I wanted JJ to get to know some of the other wives a little more, while I would go look for the dog." Reid shrugged. "I didn't think it would matter in the end."

JJ was thankful that he didn't mention her fear of the dogs just yet. She saw Emily nod and then carry on with the questions.

"So you were talking with the wives? What happened after that?" Emily asked, quizzically. Her brown eyes were looking straight at her.

"Well…someone heard a noise for somewhere and they decided to split up. I went towards a bush…alone."

Emily nodded along to what she was saying and gestured with her hand for her to keep going with the story.

JJ shifted her position, hoping that Emily wouldn't think that she was fidgety. Being around profilers made her nervous sometimes, that they would catch on to what she was thinking about. "I remember that it was really dark back there and then I heard a growl. I felt like I couldn't breathe and I just froze there."

"That was when I heard the footsteps and I called your name." Emily filled in her side of the story. She watched JJ closely.

"Yea. I heard you, but it was too late. He'd already put his hand over my mouth." JJ paused, staring straight at the coffee table. "I thought about biting his hand, but I was still frozen. I made it so easy for him." She stopped and shook her head to herself.

"And then what happened?" Emily pushed on.

"You asked me what was happening and where I was, but his hand was still over my mouth. I couldn't talk so all I could do was listen to your yelling in my ear." JJ glanced at Emily to see her sink back in her seat with guilt. "No…it's okay. It comforted me a little bit to know that you were still there."

Emily nodded and was glad that JJ forgave her. She gave her friend an encouraging smile, "Go on."

JJ took a moment to start going through everything that happened again. "The dog…" She muttered, almost to herself. "It started coming closer, but we didn't move. He just…held me there." She gulped and closed her eyes. This was the part that she really didn't want to remember.

"And he said something right?" Emily guided her along in the story with the information that she had gotten when it had happened.

"Y-yea. He asked me if I was scared of dogs." JJ glanced at Reid and wiped her sweaty palms on her pant legs. "And then he added some sarcastic comment about Ace being fun to…play with. He started pulling me closer to the dog and I closed my eyes."

Reid put his hand over top of hers. "Hey it's okay." He told her and she was surprised at how comforting it actually was to hear him talk for the first time since the questioning had started.

She just nodded at him and started again, this time keeping her composure. "You started freaking out, but he still had his hand over my mouth so I couldn't tell you what was going on. That was when he just threw me on the ground next to that dog and I guess it felt threatened…I don't know. I just felt like I was dying for some reason, like my head was okay, but my body was shutting down, you know?"

"Scared to death."

"What?"

"That's pretty much what being scared to death feels like, right?" Emily looked at Reid for clarification. He nodded.

"O-oh yea sure. Then the dog bit me a couple times, I heard you talking to me in my ear and I tried to reply, but I just…couldn't. Next thing I know I see Reid fly over and tackle this dog to the ground." JJ smiled over at him. "Then it was over."


	10. Moments

"Finally we're alone." Reid muttered to JJ after he shut the door behind Emily. He let out a quick sigh of relief before joining her on the couch again. "How are you?" He asked, seeing the blank look across her face.

She turned to look at him. "I'm good." She shrugged. "I'm glad today is our last day here. I want to see Henry again." He noticed that she didn't mention Will. There was something in her voice that was off, like there was more to what she was saying then she was letting on. He decided to leave it alone though since she'd been through a lot already.

"Yea I know…_I _need to get home too so I can finish Finnegan's Wake again." Reid sighed happily to himself. Solitude was the only life he'd ever known and now, unlike most people he found comfort in being alone.

"Again?" JJ gave him an astonished look.

He knew why she looked so surprised. That book was supposedly the most challenging book to read in the English language, but Reid enjoyed the puzzling abstractness of it. "Of course!" He shook his head, "I liked it the first time, but going through a second time you tend to notice that you didn't the first read. I love it."

"You would. It's like a genius' high." JJ teased and then let out a tired sigh.

_You two have been doing a great job this past week, but we don't want you to get any more attention than you already have. Just lay low today and get ready for tomorrow. _

Both of the young agents heard Hotch's voice in their ears. "Yes sir." Reid was the first to respond and as he did so he pulled out his earpiece. Since they were lying low he figured that Hotch didn't need to hear their whole conversations anymore. He stood up and walked into the kitchen to get them some drinks. "So JJ…" he started, bringing the drinks back into the living room. "I know you have to have some interesting stories from that small town of yours." He smiled.

JJ raised an eyebrow at her friend and took a quick sip of her drink. "What kind of stories are you looking for?"

"Anything really. We do have a lot of time on our hands."

She took another sip. "Well I did have to go down to the police station one time." A smile appeared on her face like she remembered it as a funny story.

"Jennifer Jareau I had no idea you were a rebel! I always pictured you as one of the popular girls, but not one that takes trips down to the police station!" Reid exclaimed looking at his friend. He couldn't wait to hear this story.

"One time! It was only one time!" JJ shot him a glare. "It was all a misunderstanding, but in that town everything was blown way out of proportion." She sighed, "So it was one night during the summer and I snuck out to go hang out with my friends."

"How did _you_ manage to sneak out without being seen?"

"I climbed out my window and jumped down, but our second floor wasn't that high up so it really wasn't a big deal. We walked down to these train tracks and everyone was drinking except for me because I was on the soccer team and they did random drug tests all the time. They started playing chicken on the tracks. In time the police found us and someone around me yelled to run so I did." JJ shrugged.

"You ran? That's probably the worst thing that you could have done."

"We actually got away though because we jumped into the freezing cold lake and swam to the other side. The police never thought to check there. After a while they gave up, but when I got home the police were at my house waiting. They had recognized me when I ran so when I showed back up at my house, soaking wet they took me down to the police station and tested me. When they figured out that I didn't have any drugs in my system they just questioned me about who else had been there. I didn't give them up and no one ever found out. It never went down on my permanent record either because I wasn't drinking so I technically didn't do anything wrong." JJ smiled smugly.

"Wow." Reid shook his head. "You're crazy…"

"Oh come on. You had to have gotten in trouble when you were a teenager." JJ insisted.

"Well there was that one time when I forgot my homework." Reid chuckled.

"One time?" JJ lifted her eyebrows. "Oh my gosh Spence! That's pretty impressive that you only didn't do it once."

"It was all so easy that it only took me a few minutes. Other than that the only times I really got in trouble were when I called out the answers too much in class or for cheating." Reid shrugged.

"You cheated?"

"They thought I was cheating because I got straight one hundreds on all of my tests. It took them a whole year of visits to the principal's office to finally figure out that I had an eidetic memory. That's when I started to skip grades." Reid smiled proudly at the thought. "Alright…I think that's it for story time. What else can we do?"

"How about a movie?" JJ asked, shrugging. "There's really nothing else to do while stuck in a house all day." She walked over to a case by the fireplace and started to rummage through it. "Remember the Titans….The Cove…"

"The Cove? The documentary about how the Japanese kill dolphins to use in one of their soup recipes? We are definitely _not_ watching that." Reid told her, thinking about all of the information he knew about the subject. He could just rapid-fire the dolphin maiming stories he'd heard, but he decided to keep his mouth shut for once.

"I agree." JJ nodded at him before delving back into the movies. "There's The DaVinci Code…Inception…"

"They really have Inception? That's such a mediocre take on the possibilities of the human mind. They think that you can just plant memories into someone else's mind…that's completely unheard of and absurd." Reid shook his head in disapproval for that movie.

"Okay well there are a few more…Star Wars…" She shook her head, "Forrest Gump…"

"What's that about?" Reid asked, bending down to look at the cover.

"Oh come on, Spence. You know…Life is like a box of chocolates…" JJ smiled at him. "You never know what you're gonna get." She turned back towards the pile.

"Box of chocolates…?" Reid pondered the metaphor.

JJ reached down for the last couple movies in the case. "No…no…no…" She said as she rifled through them. "Oh! I love this movie!" She held it up for him to see.

"A Walk to Remember? I've never even heard of that movie." Reid shrugged.

"Really? Never? We have to watch it then. I watched it with my sister when I was little and I never really got it until a few years later." JJ shook her head and put the movie in the DVD player.

A pit formed in Reid's stomach. Whenever JJ mentioned her sister certain sadness washed over him. He'd lost his mom and his dad, but neither were actually dead and neither had really chosen to leave him in a way like that. It was just sad for him to think of what it was like for her to have to go through that as such a young age. "Sure we can watch this." He sat down on the couch and she joined him after setting everything up. While the credits rolled, Reid looked over at JJ. "So do you have any other siblings?"

"I have an older brother and another older sister, but when I say older I mean I'm 28, my brother is 26 and my sister is 31. My other sister was pretty close to my age." JJ answered and Reid noticed that she started to look uncomfortable so he left it alone for a while.

The movie started and Reid surprisingly found himself interested in the storyline. It was a pleasant story, but he had assumed that it would also have a happy ending so he was caught off guard when the main girl character announced to her true love that she was dying of leukemia. The movie went on to a less interesting scene, so Reid decided to ask JJ a question that had been nagging him for a while. "Hey JJ?"

"Yea?" She didn't take her eyes off the screen. It was like she could sense that he was about to bring up something she didn't want to talk about.

"What was she like?"

Now he had her attention. She turned her head towards him, "Who?" She asked, but he could see that she knew perfectly well who he was talking about and just wanted to hear him say it out loud.

"Your other sister."

A small smile flashed across JJ's face, but sadness could still be seen in her eyes. "She was…well, let's just say she was my role model. She was everything I wanted to be when I was older; smart, popular, outgoing and compassionate. Most people thought that I would be closer with the sister that was around my age, but for some reason my older sister and I connected better. She helped me with my small, what I thought to be 'life-changing', problems, but I never stopped to think that she might have problems of her own. And I never thought that they would lead to…" She stopped for a few seconds and then started again. "My sister was a great person….but everyone has their demons and I guess that she just couldn't…handle hers."

Reid gave her a nod while processing what she had told him. "I'm sure she'd proud of you."

"I'd like to think that." The corners of JJ's lips curled up slightly at the thought before she turned back to the movie. It was on the ending scene, which was also the saddest part in the whole movie.

As Reid watched he gulped back the tears that wanted to escape from his eyes. A movie had never made him want to cry before, but this one, because of the passion that it brought, was a lot more emotional for him. He snuck a glance at JJ beside him only to see tears flowing freely down her face. It was weird seeing her cry for a second time because she was usually so strong and composed, but he knew that this time her tears weren't for the movie…

Reid leaned against the wall with his eyes closed. He felt pain everywhere, literally. Even his toes and fingers were throbbing with discomfort. In the past hour, Reid had been through two fights. The first, he had been forced into for round two. It hadn't been too bad until he fell on the ground and didn't have the strength to get up. The wind was knocked out of him and the cool surface of the concrete floor felt good against his skin. He had no plan to get to his feet again until he heard Brian slap JJ across the face. No. That wouldn't happen while he was here. He pulled himself off the ground and tackled Brian, slamming him into the ground. Blood pooled on the ground in front of Brian's face so Reid knew that his nose had broken against the floor. He knew that had to have been painful. The young agent climbed on top of Brian to hold him down, watching the clock on the other side of the room. As long as he could keep Brian suspended like this the clock was still running, giving him less time for the next round.

_0:30…0:29…0:28…0:27…_

"Spence?!" JJ exclaimed behind him. He turned his head to look at her only to meet her wide blue eyes. "You…you pinned him down…" She looked shocked and shook her head. "I-I…didn't know you had it in you." She sounded weak, but he didn't have time to address that at the moment.

"I didn't either." Reid smirked for a brief second before he felt Brian squirm under him so he put his hand on the stronger man's neck to stay in control of the situation. He glanced over at the clock again to see how much time was left.

_0:18…0:17…0:16…0:15…_

Fifteen seconds was all he had left to get through, but of course…just as Reid had turned to look over at the timer his grip had loosened giving Brian enough time to push him off. Reid collided with the floor on his back as Brian stood up, wiping his nose. He lifted Reid off of the ground by the collar of his shirt, standing him back up again.

"Now it's fair again. Think you can beat me now? Huh?" Brian teased, rolling his eyes. He aimed a punch at Reid's nose, but the profiler noticed and was able to dodge before the fist reached its destination. As he ducked he also threw a punch at Brian's stomach, causing him to double over for a second, but only a second. The older man recovered quickly and this time without hesitation or even pre-planning he swung his fist blindly towards Reid. It crashed into his cheek knocking him onto the ground. He fell so hard he almost thought he heard the beeping noise again…oh wait. That was a beeping noise. It was the beeping noise of the timer. _Thank god._ He thought as he heard Brian walk over and stop the beeping.

"Wow I really did not think you would last that long. Kudos to you, buddy. Now…Jennifer…I wonder what kind of fight you have in you." Brian chuckled, walking over to her. He grabbed her wrist, lifting her off the ground. As she stood, her legs gave in a little making her have to lean on him for support. There was no way she would make it through a fight with him.

"No." Reid whispered only to realize that it was too quiet for either of them to hear. He saw that JJ's eyes were barely open and there was a large red mark on her face from where he had slapped her. She was pale and sickly, he couldn't let this happen. "NO." He repeated again, this time with fierceness in his voice. He stood up and blinked a few times. Both of them looked over at him.

"Spence…" JJ's voice faltered as she spoke like she was already exhausted from standing up this long. "What are you doing…?" She pushed herself off of Brian so that she was standing by herself. "I'm…okay, really."

"No." This was the third time he had said it now. "I'm not letting this happen. Can I take this round for her? She's too weak anyway so what's the point of fighting with her when we both know she won't be able to keep up?" Reid shot the questions at Brian.

"No…no one can just _take rounds_ for other people." He spat the words 'take rounds' as if it were some sort of crime. "This is meant to test how strong you are, if she can't do this then she'll just have one hell of a time during round three."

"She _can't _do this, Brian. Just let me take this one round for her and she'll do the rest by herself. How about this: if you let me take this round for her, you can take off all of the extra time I've built up from round one and two."

"That'd be a whole…minute and a half that you're throwing away…for her." Brian informed him, expecting that this fact would make Reid hesitate in his decision. "Just remember that you have no idea what's coming during round three. It could be something so horrible that you'd wish you had kept that minute and a half. Why waste it?"

"Because she's my best friend and she means the world to me so I'd do anything for her, including this." Reid's eyes met hers and he nodded, giving her a look that told her not to feel guilty about this. She returned it with a sad gaze. "So are we going to do this or what?" He glared at Brian.

Brian still looked hesitant about it, but then he turned to JJ. "Are you okay with this? I mean, this time I'm not going easy on him. I'll beat the crap out of him so…if you want to stop it, speak up." He looked down at her.

JJ looked desperately at Reid, but he just shook his head at her. She got the message. "He can do it." A silent tear slid down her face as he let her go. She walked back over to the wall and slid back down into a sitting position against it.

Reid gave her a smile and a nod before watching Brian set the timer again. It was set for the full 5 minutes now, but he could do it. He _had_ to do it…for JJ. "Don't worry." He whispered towards her to make sure that she knew that everything was going to be okay.

A FEW HOURS EARLIER IN QUANTICO…

Hotch was sitting in his office looking through the personal files of each of the neighbors from the neighborhood that Reid and JJ had been staying in. Every single one of them led perfectly normal lives even the one who had slapped JJ. They had no real leads and they couldn't get warrants either because of their lack of evidence. His people were in trouble and there was virtually nothing he could do about it. He let out a frustrated sigh and buried his face in his hands. He'd been the one who had sent the two youngest members out there and now? They had been kidnapped. It was surreal.

The door to his office flew open to show a very flustered Morgan standing before him. "Hotch! You need to come see this!"

Hotch looked up, annoyed. "Morgan, can't this wait? I'm trying to get through these files…"

"No! It can't wait, you need to come _now."_ Morgan made eye contact with his unit chief and Hotch saw the urgency in his eyes so he stood up and followed him out. They walked hastily to Garcia's office and as he walked in he saw that on the main monitor was a video. There were two figures laying in a small room. One was a blonde woman and the other was a brunet man.

Hotch's mouth dropped open for a few seconds, but he quickly closed it and manintain his rock hard expression. "Is that-"

"Yes." Emily shook her head and Hotch noticed that she and Garcia were holding hands. "It's them."

Hotch looked back up at the screen and saw a man crouching over Reid in just the right position so they couldn't see his face at any time. He was completely aware of where the camera was. "What is he doing to him?" He asked, completely appalled by the scene that was unfolding in front of him. The man had a knife and was cutting Reid, but he didn't fight back…at all.

"You missed the rules." Rossi muttered and then went on to explain the rules of the sick game that their colleagues were being forced to play. The old man's eyes were worn and dull.

"Where is this coming from?" Hotch demanded, stepping forward, but no one responded. "Garcia!" He exclaimed, forcefully. "Where is this coming from?!" He all but yelled at the technical analyst.

"I don't know Hotch!" Garcia yelled back at him. The next part she added more softly. "I can't trace it; it's bouncing off too many servers."

Hotch didn't respond he just watched as a medic came in a started to help Reid with his wounds. "Morgan, come help me look through the files. Garcia, Rossi and Emily keep watching the video and come get us if anything happens." He turned around and walked out with Morgan following his wake.

The two livid men looked through the cases for less than ten minutes before Emily knocked on the door. Hotch looked up and his stomach dropped. He hoped that something bad hadn't happened to Reid or JJ.

"Come in." He tried to keep his voice level even though he was anxious about what Emily was going to tell them.

She walked in and sat down in one of the available chairs. "Reid got medical care, but JJ didn't and she's in pretty bad shape. Reid is estimating that she only as a few more hours without care before she…" Emily stopped herself. "Reid also started to hear this beeping noise and he almost lost it before JJ calmed him down. Right now…they're just sleeping and we should be too. We'll be no good if we're all tired like this, but I do think that someone should take the night shift and watch the video just in case something happens." She suggested.

"I will." Hotch volunteered. He didn't want to miss anything that was happening to them because he felt like it was his fault that they were in that situation in the first place. If anything happened to them he wouldn't forgive himself.

"No Hotch you have Jack, I'll stay." Morgan cut in, waking Hotch from his thoughts. Without even arguing, Hotch nodded at the other man. He was too tired to protest and it was true that they needed sleep if they want to help the two young agents.

"Alright. I'll see you two in the morning."


	11. Need You Know

**_Sorry it's been so long...I had writer's block on this story, but I'm back into it now so I hope you like this chapter! There's more to come :)_**

* * *

_"Hey Will." JJ's voice sounded remorseful._

"_JJ…" Will started with the same apologetic tone in his voice. "I'm sorry about earlier…sometimes I just lose it. I know that this is your job and you're right it is who you are so I have no right to question it. I love you JJ and I don't want anything to change. I'm sorry." He told her, knowing that it would make her heart swell. That is what he had been going for. He wanted to make it up to her more than anything. _

"_I'm sorry too, but today's our last day so when I get back how about you, Henry and I all go to the zoo. You know how he loves that." _

"_That sounds great." Will smiled and glanced over at their son who was playing with some toys in the middle of the living room. "So how is the case going?"_

_JJ went on to tell him about the whole dog search, the things they had found out and how they were about to be going to the block party thing that was going to end their undercover mission. "So tonight is the night when we're supposed to get as much information as possible so that by tomorrow, we'll have someone in custody."_

"_Great." Will made sure to sound genuinely involved in the conversation, because he actually was interested in what was happening. He chuckled a little bit before asking, "How's your marriage to Reid going?"_

"_You know, he can actually cook... I think you just might have some competition." JJ joked playfully. _

"_Are you saying that you don't like my macaroni and cheese? Fine…whatever, Jayje." Will joked back. "It's not like you're a master chef either…"_

"_I'll have you know…" JJ stopped herself. "I really don't even have an argument for that." They both laughed. _

"_I miss you Jayje so when you get home I'll be sure to have a nice bowl of macaroni and cheese waiting for you and after that…" Will's voice trailed off as he turned away from his son so that he wouldn't hear what they were talking about. The corners of his mouth curved upwards in a smile. _

"_After that…" JJ started, wanting him to go on. _

"_I'll take you upstairs and-"_

"_Daddy! Is that Mommy on the phone? Can I talk to her?" Henry jumped up, reaching for the phone that his father was holding in his ear. Will could hear JJ laughing in the background as he turned to his son and smiled._

"_Of course you can, buddy." He handed the phone down to his son whose face immediately lit up at the sound of his mother's voice. JJ had that effect on people. Her personality could light up the dullest room and that was one of the many things that he loved about her. Will watched as the two had a seemingly very pleasant conversation about the trip to the zoo that they were going to be taking together. The look on their boy's face was of true, utter excitement. It was going to be hard to put him down tonight. _

"_Okay. Goodnight Mommy! I love you!" He exclaimed into the phone and then held it up to his dad. "She wants to talk to you again." He quickly handed it off and then returned to the toys he had been playing with as if nothing had changed. _

"_Hey." JJ said breathlessly. "Henry's pretty excited about the zoo so I hope everything works out." She let out a happy sigh. _

"_So do I." _

_Will heard Reid's voice in the background. It was faint, but he could tell that Reid was telling JJ that they had to leave soon for somewhere. He assumed it was for the party that they were going to. His heart ached at the thought of not being able to talk to her anymore._

"_Okay." JJ answered Reid and then returned to their conversation. "I'm sorry, Will, but I have to leave right now for the . I'll be back soon. Tell Henry I love him and miss him." She told him in an urgent, rushed tone. _

"_And me?" Will smiled. _

"_I love you so much, Will. I hope you know that. I'll be back tomorrow and hopefully we can pick up where your story left off." JJ told him seductively. "Bye."_

"_Bye."_

"And that's what happened." Will told his wife's colleagues honestly. He found himself sitting in an interrogation room with the men and women that he had come to know and love just like his wife. They had needed some background information on what had happened before they left so he hoped that his insight to the situation would be helpful. It wasn't.

"Alright." Prentiss nodded and scribbled something down on a notepad in front of her. "We're done now." She gave him another curt nod before leaving him alone in the room.

Will was glad to have the peace and quiet. Just a moment of serenity was all he needed. He closed his eyes and for a moment, just a single moment…he let himself escape everything. It felt so good to have that one moment of tranquility, even if it was only for a single second. Before he was ready, all the horrific memories came back to him.

"_Hotch? What's wrong...? Why are you calling this late?" Will's heart was thumping hard_ _in his chest. At this time of night, he knew that the only thing he would be receiving was bad news. He thought about the party she had been attending. Almost immediately his mind drifted. Was she dead? Had she been shot? Didn't the team have eyes and ears? Would Henry ever see his mother again? He didn't have the answer…all he could do was wait for the man, who had taken an unusually long pause on the other end, to carry on with whatever he had called to say. He hoped that this was just going to be another attempt by Agent Hotchner to persuade Will to stop giving JJ a hard time about the BAU. He knew it wasn't._

"_Umm…" Hotch stuttered. Something was undeniably wrong, Hotch never stuttered. "A few hours ago," He started with the story, "as you probably know…Reid and JJ went to a party, but since then…we've lost contact and we have probable reason to believe that they have both been taken by the unsub we were trying to get into custody."_

_Will couldn't breathe. He felt like someone was pressing down as hard as they could on his lungs. His wife was gone? Just like that. He inhale quickly and then let out a shaky exhale. He was glad that their son wasn't in the room to see him breaking down like this. What would he think of his dad then? "What happened?" He asked without realizing how general his question was. His mind was racing._

"_When they were taken?" Hotch asked and went on without expecting to get an answer from Will. He knew that her husband would be heated. "Well…JJ went outside to the cooler to get drinks and Reid followed. He tried to warn us that something was happening, but there was nothing we could do. Someone hit JJ over the head and when Reid went over to help the unsub hit him too. Just before we lost contact the unsub taunted us…and then they were gone."_

_Will didn't like that. Gone. It made it sound like there was no hope that they were going to return. He had hope. His wife would stay alive for her son, for him and he knew it. No matter how long it took, he would never give up on her…he knew she would do the same. A tear slid down his face, but he quickly wiped it away. Now wasn't the time for him to break down or be sad. Now was the time for him to get down there and help find her. "I'm coming down there." He stated and hung up without waiting for a response. He would do whatever it took to save her…even if it meant giving his own life. That was love…and in that moment it was all he had to hold on to._

Will stood up, determined, and walked out of the empty room he had been sitting in. The offices were quiet too, probably due to the fact that it was around 1:00 in the morning. He saw Henry sitting in JJ's office with Garcia playing with him. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile, but it went away quickly as Hotch approached.

"Hotch." Will's voice was firm and unwavering, along with his stare. "Did anything else happen?" He was referring to the video feed. When he had first heard that they were being videotaped, he had immediately requested to see it.

"_Will, what are you doing here?" Hotch didn't look pleased to see the man and his son standing in the doorway of the BAU. _

"_Did you really expect me to sit at home while JJ is…" Will trailed off, glancing at his son who was luckily not paying attention. He had spotted his Uncle Spence and a wide grin appeared on his face. Will followed his gaze. "Why don't you go say hi?" He smiled and set his son down. Henry ran off. _

_Hotch watched the boy run away before continuing. "Yes. I do expect you to stay at home. All you're doing right now is taking time away from the investigation." He stared at Will with a hard gaze. _

"_I'll stay out of your way…I just can't be doing nothing. I need to know what is going on." Will glared back at Hotch with the same coldness. He wasn't going to back down from him when it came to the safety of his wife. _

"_Will…we can't have you here. It adds too much pressure, especially with Henry."_

"_What if I can help you? I am a qualified detective. I can help with…paperwork or something…" Will shrugged. "I just have to be here. I can't handle being at home without knowing what is happening to her…I need to know."_

_Hotch paused for a long few moments and was about to respond when Morgan walked up to the both of them. _

_Morgan gave Will a small, sympathetic nod before looking at Hotch. "Something happened on the video…they started round two." He told Hotch with a grim expression on his face._

_Will saw a momentary fear flash through Hotch's eyes. "Wait…what? There's a video of them? I need to see it!" He exclaimed, "Is JJ okay? What's happening to her?" He was frantic now knowing that they knew exactly what was going on. _

"_JJ is okay." Hotch told him soothingly. "The unsub is putting them through 8 rounds of torture with each other. He's feeding the videos to us." He explained. _

"_Can't you track it?"_

"_It's bouncing off too many servers for us to track it back to the source. I'm sorry, but for now…all we can do is watch and try to figure out where they are." Hotch seem annoyed with having to explain all of this to Will when he should be watching the video. _

"_Do you know who the unsub is?"_

"_Yes. There's actually two; Brian Fletcher and Ray Kurray." Hotch told him. "Now…if you don't mind I have to go watch the video feed." _

"_I need to see it."_

"_No."_

"_Why not? I have the right to. She's my wife."_

"_Will…I don't think she'd want you to see it. I don't even think you want to see it, it's not going to comfort you if that's what you're thinking." Morgan cut into the conversation. "If anything it will make you even less hopeful."_

_Will shook his head. "I NEED to know what is happening to my wife. Do none of you understand that?" He practically yelled. _

_Hotch nodded. "I do." He muttered, "I know how you feel Will. I've been through the same thing, just in a smaller amount of time. I know the fear and anxiety you are feeling, but trust me when I say this video isn't going to help that."_

"_I want to see it." Will insisted. _

_Hotch let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. After we finish analyzing it, we'll let you watch it."_

"No. There's still no change. I know that soon the medic will be coming to help because he took care of Reid after round one and took care of the both of them after round two." Hotch nodded, "After he comes they'll probably rest for a few hours and then…round four will start."

"How much more do you think they can take?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Hotch stared at Will, almost pleading the other man to drop the question.

Will shook his head and closed his eyes only to be filled with images from the videos.

_Round one: Knife. Round Two: Fight. Round Three: Burn. Even for a torturer…that was brutal. Will almost wanted to cry during round one. The pain he saw in JJ's eyes was so real…so desperate that he felt his heart breaking to pieces. Then, Reid had gone through the same thing. He liked that kid…he seemed sweet so seeing him get tortured was no walk in the park either. Then, to top it off, the unsub got angry at JJ and would let her get treatment. Hearing a few minutes later from a well-known genius (Reid) that your wife doesn't have that much time left is a truly heartrending. Round two made Will a little less distressed due to the fact that Reid took her time for her. He was grateful for the other man's chivalry. If they made it out he would have to thank him…**If**. Reid looked exhausted after that and from the way that he was laying…it was hard to tell that he was even breathing. Will feared that the man was gone until he spoke up, complaining of pain in his abdomen. JJ told him that he probably had broken ribs and he accepted the idea with a nod. It was silent after that until the medic came in and tended to them. He cleaned out all of their wounds, which took time, gave JJ some antibiotics for her infection, and set a couple broken bones that Reid had. It was easy to tell that he was a qualified doctor. After they rested for a while, they both seemed to a more strength than before. _

_Round three was only thirty seconds. Seems pretty short doesn't it? Well…it's a lot longer when a man is holding a heated metal pipe to your skin. Too long. The man, Brian, started with Reid. He held it to the young guy's skin for 22 seconds until he finally gave up. He couldn't take it anymore. That would make him have 8 extra seconds in the next round. Will's heart pained for him. JJ's turn came too quickly. Her screams filled the small room that he was in and he had to cover his ears. He couldn't listen to it anymore. With every second that the searing piece of metal was held to her, he felt like someone was tearing him into pieces. How could he let this happen to her? Would she hate him for not being there? Was she going to die at the hands of this psychopath? No. She wasn't. He refused to believe that. She held on for a long 31 seconds exactly. As he pulled the metal off…some of her skin came with it. From what Will could tell, it was third degree, along with Reid's. That would take a lot of time to heal. All of this would take a lot of time to heal, but if she made it through he would wait through every hospital visit, he would make sure she took all her medication, he would sit it in the waiting room through every surgery. He would never leave her side. If she made it through he would tell her how much she meant to him and he would make sure she would never forget it. _

Hours passed with no news. Will's hope was dwindling with every passing minute. He laid his head down on the cold table and started to drift off into what he knew would be, nightmare filled dreams. He couldn't sleep well knowing that she was in danger. He couldn't handle it. Just as the blackness engulfed him he felt himself being shaken.

"Will!" It was Morgan. "Another video came. Hotch told me that he wants you to see it."

"Have you guys analyzed it yet?"

"No, but he has watched it and he really needs you up there right now."

Will was out of his seat in seconds, but before he got to the door he realized that this could be good news, but it could just as easily be bad. Had she escaped or was she dead? He had to know. It was his wife they were talking about…so, pushing away his fears; Will barged into the room full of profilers.


	12. Hopes and Doubts

An empty room. That was all Will saw on the screen when he walked in…an empty room. It seemed so simple, but it gave him more hope than he even knew what to do with. His heart started pumping hard in his chest at what this could mean for JJ and Reid. His eyes darted towards Hotch for any type of reaction towards the picture, but he was emotionless. Even his posture was completely erect, not giving away anything. He looked Emily and Rossi only to get two more blank expressions. His heart dropped. He thought this was going to be good news, but after getting a series of blank stares he felt like the chance of that being the case was less likely.

"W-what does this mean?" He could feel his hands shaking.

"Watch it for yourself." Hotch re-winded the feed and sat back, watching Will, who still wasn't seeing any emotions in the older man's face. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was going to be a bad thing rather than a good. There was only one way to find out. He turned and faced the screen.

* * *

Reid found himself leaning against the grimy wall again. It was the only way he could hold himself up. Despite all the pain he was in, he couldn't stop thinking about how dirty the walls were…how much bacteria was probably thriving on their surface. It was a chilling thought, but it just kept plaguing him. At least it wasn't the beeping noise. That was the one thing that he never hoped to encounter again in his life…ever. It was terrible momentarily not knowing what is and isn't real. Reality seems so easy to understand, but that beeping noise made him…he couldn't explain it. Bewilderment was the best word. He had been completely confused and Reid, like most people, prefered being in control of things like that. He let out a long sigh before looking over to check on JJ again. She was lying on her back. Panic coursed through him as he observed that her eyes were closed. Had she given up? Her chest lifted upwards. She was breathing…_Thank god. _Reid thought, relieved. He wondered if she was thinking of giving up. Their chances seemed so bleak and in all honesty, he had thought about it already. He really had no one to return to, but her...she had a boyfriend and husband. That was why he chose to be alive. He had to make sure that she made it home to them. The thought of them losing her to something like this made him sick to his stomach. He wouldn't let that happen.

"JJ?" He asked quietly, almost shyly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Spence. I was fine 10 minutes ago when you asked me and I'm fine now." JJ replied, annoyed. He was glad to see that her normal, feisty self was still in there even after the whole ordeal that they'd been through. Her eyes remained shut.

"How's your arm?"

With a whimper, JJ pushed herself into a sitting position and opened her eyes, knowing that he time to sleep was over. She looked down at the burn on her forearm. "It's better, not tingling as much as it was before." She looked after at him. "How's yours?"

"It's okay." Reid gave her a small smile. "I'm glad he gave you antibiotics." He changed the subject off of himself, "I think it's keeping your infection from getting worse."

"Doesn't feel like it." JJ muttered, closing her eyes again. He could see that she was still sickly pale and shivering even thought it was exceedingly warm outside.

"He's not giving you enough because he doesn't want it to get completely better…he's just giving you a big enough dose so that you won't get worse. He's pretty much just holding you in the same spot." Reid shrugged. "It's better than getting worse."

"I guess so." JJ opened her eyes. She was staring in the corner of the room, at nothing in particular. He could see her mind working. There was a long silence before she finally spoke again. "What you did before…I never got to thank you for it."

Reid gave her a modest smile.

"You probably saved my life when you did that and I just want you to know that I'll never forget it." JJ met his eyes. There was another long pause and then she changed the subject again, "Do you really think we're going to make it out of here? Be honest."

"Well there are a lot of factors that come into play-"

"But what do _you_ think? In your opinion." JJ pushed on obviously wanting his opinion rather than a stastic that applied to their situation.

Reid thought for a moment. "No. I don't think we are." He hung his head for a few seconds. She had said to be honest and that was really what he thought. Their chances seemed dull considering that they were only on Round 4 and both in pretty bad shape, health-wise.

"Neither do I." JJ looked at the ground and a tear slid down her face. "I never thought that it would end like this... I thought I would die in my sleep or by getting shot." She laughed half-heartedly before staring sadly at the ground. "I wonder what Will is going to tell Henry. I hope he doesn't miss me too much." More tears came. "I'm not ready for this...I'm scared, Spence."

"I am too." Reid took her hand and clutched it tightly. "But, at least we have each other."

"Yea." JJ smiled at him a little bit through her tears. "Until this is over…"

Reid opened his mouth to reply to her when the doors swung open, forcefully to reveal a very excited-looking Brian. He set down the timer across from them. "We're going to begin Round 4 soon. Excited?" He grinned widely, making Reid sick to his stomach.

"Over-joyed." JJ replied sarcastically, making a smile come to Reid's face.

"Good. I'll make sure you go first." Brian gave her a toothy smile, now satisfied that she had shut up. "Oh and there's been a change of plans. I decided that this is taking way too long so we're going to skip the Round 4 and 5 that I had planned to go straight to what would have been Round 6. So technically, since we skipped 4 and 5, you'll only have 6 rounds total. Understand?"

Reid and JJ exchanged a look between eachother before turning back to their captor.

"I just have to make a quick run to the store to get some supplies. This is going to be fun. I have a feeling this is going to be my new favorite round!" Brian exclaimed walking out of the room.

JJ let out a sigh and shook her head, but when she looked over at Reid he wasn't paying attention which puzzled her. "Spence?" She asked curiously. He was staring at something unwaveringly and a few more tense seconds passed by before he finally replied.

"He left the door unlocked."

* * *

Will stared at Hotch. "They made it out?" His eyes were wide and his voice was excited, but Hotch didn't seem to have the same expression. He still had a cold, blank look on his face. It wasn't helping to lighten the mood. No one answered his question so he turned back to the TV with even more hope than he'd had before. She was going to make it. That was the only way he could think about this without breaking down. Jennifer Jareau was going to make it. Spencer Reid was going to make it. They were going to make it and when they did everyone would welcome them back with open arms. He glanced around the room and saw the worry in every profiler's eyes. They did care and they were invested deeply in this case. This team was the best in the country. They would find them. They'd had plenty of other bad cases…this was routine.

Will tried to convince himself that this was the truth, but doubts kept raising in his mind. They were both hurt so there was no way that would be able to make it very far before he caught up and they were both also losing hope, the one thing that would, in the end, keep them sane. The team would try their best to find them. He could tell that they would each work themselves to the bone, but…was that enough? It seemed like they had no leads on location, no evidence and nowhere to start.

His doubts were outnumbering his hopes so he decided that the only way to get through this was to tell himself:

_Jennifer Jareau and Spencer Reid **would** make it. _

_The team **would** find them. _

_It **would** be enough._

In time, he would believe it.


	13. No Hesitation

"Come on JJ, we have to go!" Reid told her urgently when he realized that she was falling behind. They had just entered the woods that were beyond the house. Once they got through there…it would be all over, they would be done.

"Reid…" JJ shook her head, coming to a complete stop. She looked just about ready to throw up. This was all obviously too much for her weak body. A tear slid down her face, maybe in pain, maybe in fear. She looked up. "I can't…you have to keep going."

"I'm not leaving you." Reid insisted. How could she even be suggesting that after all they had been through together? Never in a million years would he leave her behind, never.

"Spence…" She started, but was cut off.

"JJ, no. I'm _not_ leaving you. I'll carry you the rest of the way if that's what it takes, but we're in this together. You and me, we stay with each other…no matter what, okay?" Reid clarified for her, taking her hand and pulling her along.

JJ coughed, "I don't want you to die just because I have to. You could make it Reid, but we both know that two nights out here in the cold will kill me. I'd be better off getting taken back where they'll give me medicine, but you…you could make it."

"I don't want to make it without you by my side." Reid looked into her blue eyes, his own watering slightly.

"One of us has to get back and if you make it out you'll remember exactly how to get back. You'll get them to save me. It's the perfect plan, Spence…please. I don't want to be the reason that you get killed." JJ pleaded with him.

"Get killed? What makes you think we're going to die any time soon? We escaped! We're gonna make it…if we keep moving!" He nodded towards the forest urgently.

JJ started walking towards it with him, "I'll only slow you down."

"I don't care. I want to be with you…I have to make sure you're okay." Reid shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because you're my best friend."

"Look, Reid…this is about survival. There are times when you should look out for your friends and help them, but there are also times when you need to be selfish and starting thinking about what _you're _going to do and how _you're_ going to survive." JJ pleaded with him.

"Are you asking me to be selfish…?"

"No, well…yes. If you want to word it like that. You need to worry about you right now and I'll do the same for me. I think that my best bet is going back. That's the only way I'll get out and you know it too."

"No. I refuse to believe that."

"I can't keep going."

"Yes you can."

"What makes you so sure about everything all of a sudden?" JJ stepped away from him. "You're taking charge; I like that, but this needs to stop. I know what's best for me."

"I know that you think this is the right thing to do, but JJ…" Reid shook his head. "We should stay together. Weren't you the one who said that we would never split up again…ever?" He asked, remembering that conversation.

"Yes, but I don't want to hold you back."

"And I don't want to have to face Will and Henry without you. How am I supposed to tell them that I made it out, but you didn't?" Reid shook his head.

"You'll tell them that it was the only way. You'll tell them that I told you that you had to do it. You, Spencer Reid, will tell my husband and son that I love them and then you'll tell them to shut up so that you can tell the team where to find me. Hopefully, I'll be alive." JJ told him and then paused for a few seconds. "Please…"

He had no hesitation, "No. Come on! We have to keep going."

* * *

"So if they made it out…" Will looked up at the rest of the people sitting in the room, "Why are we still watching this?" He looked around at the group of profilers sitting vacantly in front of him. He found it extremely frustrating that no one would answer his questions or even look him in the eye. He turned back to the screen just in time to see Ray and Brian re-enter the room. He smiled selfishly, waiting to see the panic on their faces.

Ray was the first to react with, as they had expected, panic. He looked around the room frantically, searching as if there was anywhere for them to hide. "Brian!" He exclaimed, looking back at the leader. "They're gone!"

Brian glanced around and slowly a smile appeared on his face.

"What are you smiling about?"

"It worked."

"What worked?"

"My plan."

"What the hell are you talking about Brian? What plan?"

"Listen Ray, you remember how we decided to speed things up and go straight to round six?" Brian looked at his follower expectantly.

"Uhh…yea."

"Well this _is _round six. It's probably my favorite round. You make them think that they've escaped when in reality there is a tall fence surrounding the whole property. All we have to do is find them…which should be easy. This round isn't really about physical suffering, more like emotional. It crushes all their hope, making other rounds even more fun. It also _really_ tires them out so they have no will to fight back anymore either." Brian shook his head. "I love round six. It's a real show stopper."

Ray nodded, "Very clever." He smirked a little.

"It's 11:30. We'll start looking around one so that they have enough time to run as far as they can. Eat something before; we might be out for a while." He looked up at the camera, knowing that they were watching and gave a maniacal smile. The feed switched to a camera in the forest. It switched through numerous views around the property, but they were all empty until they got to one near a barn. The figures of JJ and Reid could be seen clearly on the edge of the trees. They were arguing about something and JJ looked to be struggling enormously. They entered the deep woods and now, since Brian had motion censored cameras…the feed was following them. It was perfect…to him anyway.

Now Will understood. He understood the downcast stares of JJ and Reid's coworkers, he understood why none of them would talk to him or look him in the eye, and he understood their sorrow and their pain. He understood.

* * *

Reid looked up through the trees at the clear sky. The sun had risen to take its place in the center of the sky so he guessed that it had to be around noon. They really had to get moving, but JJ was still physically struggling to keep up. After their argument, after they entered the woods, she had thrown up…twice. He hated seeing her in so much pain, but this was the only way. They couldn't keep going this slow. He turned back to face JJ, who looked sweaty and pale. Too pale.

"Get on my back." He ordered quickly, backing up so that he was directly in front of her.

"Spence…you don't-"

"Yes I do, now get on." Reid ordered a little bit more firmly that time. He was obviously not going to back down. A few seconds later he felt JJ slowly climb onto his back. She was lighter than he had expected, probably from their food deprivation. It actually wasn't that hard for him to carry her along at a good pace. He could see that they were close to the other edge of the forest, their way out, but there was something blocking the way.

"Spence."

"Hmmm?" Reid was squinting to see what it was.

"There's a fence right there." JJ alerted him.

Reid gulped, shaking his head. "No. That's not right…" He spun around slowly, trying to figure this out. "Oh my god, JJ…" He slid her off of his back. She staggered a little bit, but he turned around and steadied her. "This is all part of his game. He's just going to hunt us down and track us like animals. He let us out on purpose."

Realization lit up in JJ's eyes. "No…" She shook her head.

Reid wiped some sweat off of his face and looked at the fence. It was about 8 feet tall with barbed wire at the top. There was really no possibility of them being able to climb it, especially in their condition, but it seemed like Brian had expected them to try. Reid looked down at the bottom. Had he expected them to dig underneath it?

JJ could see his mind working, "What are you thinking, Spence?"

"Come on." He approached the fence and immediately started digging with JJ following his lead without question. The dirt wasn't remarkably hard, but it wasn't soft enough for them to dig through it with the ease that they would have likes. Their hole was growing, but it was taking time…which was much too valuable to be wasted. There was a small hole between the ground and the end of the fence. They kept digging, vigilantly. The hole grew, little by little.

Reid stopped and looked at JJ, who continued to dig. Her frame was even smaller than it had been before due to malnutrition and the weight loss from her infection. "You can fit through, Jayje." He nodded to the hole.

"You think so?"

"Have I ever been wrong?" Reid smiled, but he actually wasn't completely sure that she would fit. It was worth a try if it would save her life.

JJ nodded and got onto her stomach, sliding down into their small hole. She ducked underneath the fence and squeezed her small, petite body through. It had been close, but she had fit. Once she was all the way through, she turned back to him. "What about you?"

"Keep digging. It should help that you're on the other side." Reid informed her and she obeyed. They were both digging on either side of the fence. The hole was growing faster now that both sides of dirt were being displaced. A few more minutes and he would be free. He heard the growl of an engine behind him. There was a car coming. They didn't have a few minutes. The hole looked like it was too small for him, but as he crawled underneath he realized how much weight he must have lost because he slid through with ease. He quickly got to his feet and took JJ's hand, pulling her up. He took off in a run, practically dragging JJ along behind him.

* * *

Ray munched on a bag of potato chips. He liked watching them struggle. It was amusing to him. He watched as they approached the fence. He knew that their hopes were about to be crushed. This was going to be entertaining. He saw the fear in the woman's eyes and the confusion in the man's. They were trapped and there was nothing they could do about it. He watched the man think, looking around at his surroundings. His eyes rested on the fence. Ray laughed, he thought that they would be able to get out. Yeah right. They thought they could outsmart the best? There was no way. He watched them go back to the fence and start digging. He sat up. What were they doing? Digging? He squinted. It was actually working.

"BRIAN!" He yelled, "They're getting through the fence on the west side. We have to go right now!" Ray exclaimed and within seconds Brian was with him and they were both climbing into the car. They sped down to the west side and jumped out, running through the trees towards the fence.

It was a short run, but when they reached it all they found was a hole. The two agents were gone. They had actually gotten out.

Ray shook his head. "We lost them for real."

Brian let out a sigh and put his hands on his hips.

"Aren't you nervous? They're going to tell the cops and we're going to get arrested!" Ray exclaimed, looking at his friend incredulously.

Brian shook his head. "Ray, calm down."

"Calm down? Are you kidding me?!"

"Listen-"

"NO. You know what? I'm done listening to you. You got me into this and now you've screwed up. What am I supposed to do now? I'll never be able to get a job again if I go to jail. What kind of doctor was once a criminal?" Ray shook his head, pacing.

"RAY!" Brian exclaimed, "It's not over." He started walking to the car.

"What do you mean?"

Brian smirked, "We'll find them. It's just bigger hunting grounds, that's all."


	14. Not Enough

The sky had turned a dark blue since they had gotten underneath the fence. They could barely see a few feet in front of them. It was definitely going to make traveling very difficult, but they couldn't stop. It was likely that Brian and Ray were searching for them right now. If they were going to stop they had to find a safe shelter that was well hidden. Lying down next to a tree just wasn't going to work this time. Reid was doing good to keep a good pace even though his body ached. He wanted to stop, but he knew they didn't have a huge window of time considering that they were on foot and Brian had a car. It would be easy for them to catch up. He glanced back at JJ who was again struggling. He pitied her, but also had the nagging feeling that Brian and Ray were getting closer. He couldn't carry her again either because he didn't feel as strong as before.

"Come on, Jayje. We have to keep moving. They could be catching up and we have to make it at least a significant distance away before we stop. I'm sorry…I know you're in pain, but…we have to go." Reid urged.

JJ nodded, sweat covering her face. He could see the guilt in her eyes, but they really did need to keep going at a good pace. It was important. Her pace picked up after that, she was really pushing her limits to keep up with Reid.

It seemed like they hadn't gotten much further before JJ started to slow down again. There was no way they were going to make it as far as Reid would have hoped, but he wasn't going to leave her either. He knew they had to stop soon for JJ's sake though. He slowed down to walk beside her and put his arm around her waist to help her along.

"We'll stop after we make it over this hill, okay? Do you think that you can do that?" Reid asked her.

JJ gave him a small nod as she looked at the large hill that they were starting to climb up. He wondered if she would have said yes to him no matter what kind of pain she was feeling. He was pretty sure that was the case, but at least she looked confident and at least determined to make it over despite what her body was telling her to do.

Reid gave her a smile as they climbed, "You're being really strong JJ and I'm really proud of you. I don't think that I would be able to do what you're doing. No one could, except for you because you're JJ and you're tough."

"Thanks." She said, quietly. It didn't seem like she was in much of a talking mood. She was concentrating on just getting over this hill so that she could stop.

It took them a substantial amount of time, but they eventually made it over the hill and to the other side. They found a nice spot in between four trees that was hidden. No one would be able to see them from the road. They laid down together to stay warm and also to feel safe. He hoped that this would be their last stop before they finally got to see their team members again.

* * *

Watching and waiting. It was the only thing they could do. The video played on, following JJ and Reid on their journey through the woods. It made Emily sick to her stomach to watch this.

To watch her friends suffer.

She could see that JJ was limping painfully and seemed to be falling behind Reid, who wasn't going that fast himself. Their pace was getting slower and slower.

Reid noticed it too and stopped to let her catch up. He told her to get on his back and she tried to refuse the help, because she was too proud, but he didn't let her. Not this time. She slowly climbed onto his back and he started to carry her along.

Emily felt pride welling inside of her. Reid wasn't going to leave her behind and she found comfort in that. She knew that whatever happened, they would take care of each other. In curiosity, Emily looked at Will for a reaction. His posture was slumped like he was still disheartened from their earlier finding. She looked into his eyes and, unlike his body language, they were full of admiration. Reid was, after all, carrying his wife to safety. It was a bold move, especially for him.

The team watched as the pair approached the fence, uneasiness building with every moment. It was like a scary movie where you know that the killer is behind the door, but that one 'courageous' girl decides to go check on a noise they heard and you yell at the screen, telling them not to go in there. But they can't hear you and Reid and JJ couldn't hear them.

Reid looked around, but then came to a realization. The realization that they knew only their genius would have figured out. He knew what Brian was doing and it had only taken him a few valuable minutes to figure it out. He told JJ their situation and the shock was evident in her eyes. He thought quickly, eyes landing on the fence.

JJ followed his gaze and asked what he was thinking, but he barely gave her an answer. He was a man on a mission. A mission to get them out. He led her over to the fence and started digging, JJ followed his lead.

Emily had noticed before how skinny JJ seemed to be and it had worried her. It was clear on her face how malnourished she actually was, not to mention the fact that she had a bacterial infection. But even though all of that seemed harmful to her health, as she watched JJ squeeze through the hole in the fence she was thankful for all of it…that it had given her the chance to escape.

A couple more handfuls of dirt later, the noise of a car was roaring loudly from somewhere behind Reid. They dug faster and Reid managed to slip out aswell. A few minutes after the two disappeared into the woods, Ray came up to the fence. He called for Brian, once again panicking, but as Brian arrived he was completely calm. Their conversation ended with threatening message that they knew was meant for them.

"We'll find them. It's just bigger hunting grounds, that's all."

The feed cut off.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Will stood up again to face the team. There was urgency in his voice. He was getting desperate for answers, for leads, for new information…

For JJ.

"It means that he's going to keep looking for them. The confidence in his voice tells me that he knows the area well, but they do have a better chance than they did inside the fence." Hotch tried to sound optimistic, but it just came out in a stony monotone. Optimism wasn't his thing.

"We just have to hope that they'll find a good hiding spot somewhere." Morgan let out a sigh.

Emily shook her head. "Hope isn't enough." She breathed.

All heads turned towards her.

Morgan tilted his head in confusion, "What?"

"_Hope isn't enough."_ Emily repeated with a little more firmness. She stood up and exited the room. How could they just expect to sit there and wait? They were the FBI for god's sake. They were supposed to help people and they usually did, but when one of their own was in danger all they did was sit there and wait? It was pathetic and she hated every minute of it.

As she stormed towards the bathroom, a strong hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Emily…" Morgan's voice sounded apologetic. "I-"

"I know. You're sorry, but the thing is…" Emily shook her hand and turned around. "I _don't _want to hear that. I don't want to hear that you didn't mean it that way or that this is the only thing that was can do because those are both lies. _I'm _going to call Garcia and then maybe, just maybe we can help Reid and JJ because you seem to think that they'll miraculously make it out on their own."

"I don't."

"What? You don't believe in your team mates abilities?" Emily started, irrationally. She was barely aware of what she was saying. It just rolled off her tongue easily in a heated rage.

Morgan sighed, "You're stressed and taking out your anger on me."

"Stop profiling me!" Emily turned on her heels and stormed off. She just wanted some alone time without him following her. She needed time to think. Two of her best friends were missing. What she really needed was time to breathe.

But Morgan followed. "Hey!" He called, his own voice sounding angry. "You do realize that this little tantrum you're throwing isn't helping Reid or JJ either, don't you?"

Emily froze, balling up her fists. She wanted to turn around and give him one hell of an argument or even a mouthful of her fist, but she knew that this was going too far. So she took a long breath in and then slowly made her way down the rest of the hallway. She turned a corner and then stopped, thankful to be out of his view. Burying her hands in her face, she sank to the ground.

But she didn't cry.

All she did was soak in the peace. For those few minutes that she sat there, she felt at peace. And a few minutes was all she needed. By the time she stood up she felt refreshed. She felt like a woman on a mission, in honor of Reid. She was going to call Garcia right away and see if she had found anything. She turned the corner back to the wide hallway only to find Morgan in the same spot that she had left him in, unmoving.

His eyes shifted towards her when she back into view.

Emily didn't want to apologize. She didn't want to mend the bridges just yet because she wasn't entirely cooled down. She walked down the hallway, gave him quick look and then stepped past him. She could practically feel the tension in the air.

"Emily…" Morgan started as she stepped by.

She kept walking.

* * *

Surprisingly JJ was the first to wake up the next day, but only because of the sun shining through a small gap in the trees and straight into her eyes. She scanned her surroundings, not remembering much of what had happened last night. All of the events just blurred together to create a haze of memories that she couldn't quite recall. So instead of trying to remember...she just stared up into the sky.

The sun coming up gave her more than consciousness.

It gave her a sense of certainty. The sun was _going _to rise, no exceptions...and she held onto that. It gave her hope.

The more time she spent awake, she worse she felt. It was like the pain was waking up with her, settling back into its place. Her stomach, her head, her arms and legs, everything. Everything hurt, but it was the internal stuff that was causing her the most discomfort. She could feel her fever starting to set in again and she felt like she needed to throw up. No, she was going to throw up.

JJ managed to get to her feet and exit the little sanctuary between trees that they had found. Outside of it she crouched over, but all she could do was dry heave due to the fact that she had no contents in her stomach. Each cough sent a shuddering pain through her body. When she was finished, she was left sitting on the ground trembling and leaning against a nearby tree.

Out of nowhere, she heard a noise behind her: a twig cracking, but it was enough to spook her. She whipped her head around, but there was no one there. Maybe it was all in her head. Was that one of the symptoms of infection? Hallucinations? Or had she imagined that too? Maybe she was just going crazy, PTSD could set in early right? Or maybe she had just heard a noise, it was more simple than she had thought. Fear coursed through her. If it was Brian or Ray she wouldn't be able to outrun them or out climb them. She'd most likely just get caught, but maybe Reid would get away. He could make it without her.

JJ glanced around and got to her feet despite the protest from the rest of her body. She used the tree to support her for a few seconds and then started walking. The moment she turned around the tree she ran straight into someone. It was a man, she could tell by his chest, but she didn't see his face. A scream escaped her, but a hand clamped over her mouth and stopped that quickly. _

"Hotch, I'm telling you! Someone needs to talk to Emily. She just yelled at me for no reason." Morgan told his boss, like a kid telling on one of his class mates.

Hotch gave him an annoyed look, "You really think we have time for that Morgan? I'm sure she's stressed and she has the right to be, but the only person that I would think could get through to her…is JJ. And she's _not here _right now so why don't we work on that instead of sitting here talking about your problems?"

Morgan paused, "I just thought-"

"You thought wrong, now come on. We're going down to talk to Brian and Ray's wives. They're claiming that they don't know what's going on, but I think they're lying." Hotch stated, making it known that there was no question about it.

"Just us?"

"Yes, just us. Rossi and Prentiss are trying to help Garcia look through some possible properties that Ray and Brian may be using." Hotch said before walking out of the precinct and out to their SUV. He got in the driver's seat while Morgan climbed into the passenger's.

Morgan felt really guilty about their earlier argument. Hotch was right, Emily was just stressed and he had no right to question that. So he decided to try to break the awkwardness. "Hey Hotch, I'm sorry about earlier, I just-"

"Don't worry about it." Hotch cut him off.

"O-okay." Morgan was thrown off, but he tried to focus on the case. They needed to figure it out before Ray and Brian caught up to JJ and Reid in the woods.

It took them 20 minutes to drive down to the neighborhood.

There were police cars lined up on sidewalks, examining in the crime scene still. They had the CSU there pulling prints and blood samples, but Morgan and Hotch both knew that neither of those things would get back in time to help them.

They approached one of the houses, confidently. This was going to help. They had to tell themselves that.

Hotch knocked and a police officer opened the door. "Agent Hotchner?" He held out his hand and Hotch shook it, "Brian's wife is right in there." He pointed to a room and then left them alone.

They entered, looking at the woman. She looked completely composed, there was no way she could be this put together if her husband had taken two FBI agents if she didn't know. They sat down across from her.

"Hello, Mrs. Kale. I'm Agent Hotchner and this is Agent Morgan. We're here to ask you some questions about your husband, Brian." He started, nodding.

"Alright." Lauren said, calmly. "What do you want to know?"

Hotch glanced at Morgan, "What is he like at home?"

"He likes things done his way. I do the cleaning, cooking, and laundry. He's very big with sports and things like that. We eat dinner at the table together, but after that he's in front of the TV. He's a man, what do you expect?" Lauren looked at each of them.

"Did you notice any recent changes with him? Maybe something that happened and caused him to be different." Hotch suggested.

Lauren shook her head.

"Okay, what about when Reid and JJ got here? Did he say anything about them?" Hotch asked carefully.

Lauren shrugged, "He may have mentioned something about new neighbors. He wasn't home much though because he was at work."

"Where does he work?"

"He's a mechanic at a garage."

"Alright, how about the night of that dinner party? Did he say anything about that?" Morgan asked this time, narrowing his eyes. Now they would know if she was lying or not because they'd been listening in.

"Well he didn't like JJ much; I could tell that from the moment she walked up. He barely acknowledged her, but later during the party. I look over and see them arguing. I watched them go outside, but I didn't really think anything of it. Later that night Brian told me he slapped her. I was so angry at him, but before I could really talk to him about it we had to go find a stupid dog. We came home and went straight to bed. I forgot about it." Lauren explained.

"How about the other party?"

"I lost him during it and never found him."

"How long have you two been married?" Hotch asked, changing the subject.

"Four years."

"Did you notice anything out of the ordinary before now? Maybe a long time ago?" He asked.

"Nope, nothing. I'm sorry." Lauren didn't look sorry. She had a blank expression on her face like she didn't even care at all. She knew. She knew everything. If Hotch wasn't sure before, he was sure now.

"Alright. Thank you for you time."

"I hope you find them, Agent Hotchner. They seemed like nice people." Lauren nodded at him.

"They are." He concluded before walking out of the house.

Morgan sighed, "Well…that was weird."

"She knows…" Hotch shook his head, "She knows everything. She probably knows where Reid and JJ are, but we don't have time to pry it out of her. We don't have time for anything!" He exclaimed, feeling like a failure.

Morgan looked at him, sympathetically. "Hotch, man…" He trailed off.

Before Hotch could say anything else, his phone rang. "Hello?"

It was Garcia.

"Hotch. I found it! Ray's brother has some farm property just outside the city. I already sent the address to your phones. Rossi and Emily are already on their way." Garcia told him, "Now bring them back to me."

"We will." Hotch ran towards the car with Morgan following. He didn't even know what was happening, but he still ran because he did know that whatever it was, was urgent. And if it was urgent then it had to do with Reid and JJ.

So he ran.


	15. Opening Up

Arms wrapped around her and she felt helpless.

It was over, she'd been caught and most likely in the next few hours she would be dead so the only thing she could think to do was alert Reid so that he could at least get away. She let out a muffled half sob half scream through the hand that was placed over her mouth. Her eyes squeezed shut with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe that it was all coming to an end this quickly, all those years of hard work to get to the BAU and then working hard every single day to save people that she barely knew, but now? Who would replace her? Would that person be able to take on a job like that? Would the team move on? She was sure they would and that was what disheartened her the most. They would forget her and she knew that it was good that they would move on, but it just felt like it was all for nothing.

She pounded on the man's chest with her fists while still letting out sob-screams. It was time to fight, if this was it she wasn't going down without giving it everything she had. She struggled to get out of the man's grasp, pushing his chest away but he was holding her in an efficiently positioned way so that his grip was exceedingly tight.

"JJ, stop. JJ! It's me Reid." Reid told her, hand still over her mouth. Her panic scared him because he knew that physically, she was in bad shape, but during that episode he was forced to consider whether her mental stability was being affected too.

She stopped pounding on his chest, but her hands were still shaking.

Reid bit his lip; he must have caught her off guard. From the spot in the trees he had heard her throwing up so he came to check and see if she was okay. Out of nowhere, JJ collided with him, but kept her head down, never looking up to see him. She started to scream, but he didn't want anyone (Brian and Ray) to hear her so he put his hand over her mouth. It escalated to screaming and crying a few minutes later. He had to admit that it was pretty nerve wracking to see her freaking out this way.

JJ forcefully pushed herself off of him, stumbling slightly. She looked up at him, like she was just making sure that it was actually him. "You…Reid…" She paused, panting slightly. There were still tears running down her face. She couldn't stop them and he knew it was because of all the emotions she had been holding in before. Once she opened the gate to them, it couldn't be closed.

"JJ, I'm sorry…" Reid started, "I was just coming to check on you." He walked towards her a little bit.

She backed away, "You scared the hell out of me!"

"I-I'm sorry…I don't know what you want me to say JJ." Reid felt at a loss for words.

"I don't want you to say anything." JJ breathed, letting more tears fall, "Just let me…" Pause, "Give me a minute."

Reid stepped over to her and wrapped his arms around her protectively. They lowered themselves to the ground and leaned against a tree. He could still feel her shaking in his arms and she was crying again, just like she had been that night after the dog attack. Heart-wrenching, painful sobs that broke his heart into pieces. He rubbed her back and squeezed her tight so that she would know that she was safe with him.

After a few minutes she became silent. He looked down and watched her compose herself. She turned her emotions inwards, making it look easy. It w_as _like a routine for her. She never let her true emotions come out and he had always wondered if that was a dangerous thing. If you turn your emotions inwards, you'll start to really tear yourself apart. He wondered if JJ wasn't as tough as she looked, but he wasn't going to risk asking in that moment.

"Okay." JJ let out a smooth sigh.

Reid watched her carefully, wondering if she had been talking to him. "You're done?"

"Yea, I'm…sorry. I thought you were someone else…" She trailed off not wanting to think about that again.

"Are you sure you're okay? You looked really shaken up; I didn't mean to scare you like that…" Reid started to apologize again, biting his lip. He felt really bad, especially considering her state. He may have made it worse. Panic, essentially is not good for the body, it puts it under stress.

JJ nodded, "I'm okay."

"Alright, well, how are you feeling? I think we should start moving again soon. I'm pretty sure that Brian and Ray are looking for us, but as long as we stay deep in the woods that shouldn't be a problem." Reid looked at her.

JJ gave him a small shrug, "The pain is still there, but it's better than it was yesterday. It's just…I feel nauseous…"

"That's probably from the infection."

JJ nodded, "I think I'm fine to walk though. Better off than yesterday anyway, it was nice to get a full night of sleep."

Reid smiled a little bit, surprised at how her words of wisdom, even at a time like this, could bring a smile to his face. "Well then great. Let's get going."

JJ started walking deeper into the forest with Reid at her side. Her sore bones felt much better than yesterday, but the weakness that she couldn't control was still there. She glanced at him, but then continued to keep her gaze forward. "Have you seen any sign of them?" Her eyes were still forward.

"No, but I know they're looking. Brian is a narcissist so he wouldn't give up just because it's a larger space. He'll keep looking for us." Reid answered ominously.

JJ felt a chill go down her spine and she hoped that he didn't notice, but it was Spencer Reid they were talking about. He could read body language like it was a page of a book.

"But it's not like they're right behind us." He added, "They're probably still in a car so we have a better chance walking through the woods until we find a house or something."

JJ looked over at him. It was easier for her to walk like this, when her mind was occupied with thoughts it wasn't dwelling on all the pain she was in so she could keep up better. The more you think about pain, the more it hurts so talking to Reid helped her in more ways than he thought. "Do you think that we're gonna make it? How far are we?"

He uttered three words that she'd never heard come out of his mouth. "I don't know." Spencer Reid, the genius that graduated from high school at the age of 15 told her that he didn't know. It felt like JJ's whole world was falling to pieces, but the only think she could think to do…was laugh.

So she did, JJ laughed.

"What's so funny?" Reid gave her a weird look.

JJ let out a few more laughs before gasping for air and answering, "Everything is so bad. You have cuts and bruises all over your body, I have an infection and we're wandering through the woods with no idea where we're going, but it's funny because…the thing that made me realize that everything is actually that bad, that made it feel real is when you said…that you didn't know. You, Spencer Reid, didn't know." She shook her head, laughing a little bit more.

Reid let out a few chuckles.

* * *

"So this is it." Morgan watched the trees rush by his window in a blur. He looked over at Hotch, who hadn't said a word since their drive had started. He was probably thinking about Reid and JJ, that was what Morgan had on his mind.

"This is it." Hotch answered without even looking at Morgan. His eyes were glued to the road.

Morgan let out a shaky sigh, "Do you think they're-"

"Morgan, stop. When we get they're we'll find out, but I think it would do us the best right now to stop thinking about that. We should think about the good things that they are, not what's become of them now." Hotch cut him off.

Morgan nodded slowly, "You're right. Reid was like a little brother to me, I felt like I should always watch out for him, you know? But I didn't. I wasn't there for him, like an older brother should be." He shook his head, "And JJ…she's the sweetest person I know and I always thought that she was tough as nails, but now…I feel like she's not as tough as she lets on." He had expected Hotch to nod or tell him to be quiet again, but his unit chief surprised him.

"Reid is a great kid, very bright. It's amazing what he knows right now and it's almost scary to imagine what he'll know by the time he's my age. And he has that quirky personality that just makes you drawn to him…great kid." He nodded, "When he joined the team I didn't really think much of him, but within a few cases I came to admire him for the traits that he, being younger than me, possessed that I couldn't seem to master. I saw who I wanted to be…in who he was and is."

Morgan nodded along, surprised by the man's sudden openness. He realized that Hotch was just as nervous as he was and it made him feel a little bit better. "And JJ?" He asked.

Hotch shook his head, "JJ and I…" He paused, "There's so much history there. I-I…, when she joined the team I was skeptical, as was everyone else, but the moment that I actually talked to her…within the first five minutes I knew what kind of person she was; passionate, hard-working, caring. I just knew…and she well, she helped me through Haley's death in the way that she worked. Seeing her help people the way she did just made everyday better and brighter. She's an amazing person, she really is and the innocence that she has is so…refreshing. Her perspective on life is so bright and…it's just nice to have someone like that around, you know?"

"I know."

"It's just…they're both so young and I was the one who sent them out there. I sent them straight into the game of this psycho and I was supposed to be the one looking out for them." He paused, eyes forward. "And I didn't. Now they're god knows where and there may be a good chance that we're too late."

Morgan frowned, knowing that it was probably true, but he didn't want to dampen the mood any further. "There's also a chance that they'll both get out of this alive. We just have to believe that if we're gonna get through it."

"You're right." Hotch nodded and then they both became silent as the house came into view. There were numerous police cars and paramedics out in front of the house. There were police officers and CSU agents everywhere bagging up evidence. Hotch parked quickly not caring that he blocked in one of the police officers. They both climbed out quickly just as the front door opened to reveal a few paramedics.

"Oh my god." Morgan breathed, starting at what they were carrying. It was something neither of them had really expected to see. They both froze at the sight; even Hotch didn't seem to have anything to say. The two agents watched them push it into one of the ambulances.

Hotch slammed the car door shut and walked furiously in a random direction, not sure where he was going or if he even cared. He just had to get away from it. From what they had just put into that ambulance.

It was a body bag.


	16. The Most Dangerous Game

Emily exited the house and let out a long a sigh. For her, this day had been unbearably uneventful. All they had found inside the house was the room from the videotapes, which had an excruciating amount of blood on the ground, the room where Brian and Ray had been watching the video and a mysterious body, which had the potential to be eventful, but didn't help the investigation at all. At first they had no idea who it was, but then one of the local cops identified her to be one of the other neighbors; a woman named Gale. According to the officer, she was Ray's wife so it led Emily and Rossi to conclude that she had found out about their little "game" with JJ and Reid and they knew that they had to get rid of her before she said anything.

Rossi was inside talking to the officers and getting blood samples, but that much blood in one room made Emily feel sick to her stomach, especially when she knew whose blood it was. She couldn't take it anymore so she was going to go outside and call Hotch to see where they were, but when she actually did walk outside she spotted Morgan standing dumbfounded by the black SUV. _What a pleasant surprise._ Emily thought bitterly. He had a sorrowful look on his face which made Emily a bit curious. Why did he look so sad? In fact, he looked just about ready to cry. He looked up at saw her so she started to approach.

"Where's Hotch?" Emily asked, looking around for the man. He didn't seem to be anywhere in sight and she didn't really want to talk to Morgan that much. To be honest, she was still angry about before.

Morgan shrugged, looking down at the ground. "How should I know?" He replied quietly while bringing up his gaze to meet hers.

"Umm…you drove with him?" Emily shook her head, "It doesn't matter. We should probably go see if Rossi needs some help inside to get the blood samples. I just needed to get out of there for a few minutes, you know?" She found herself feeling a little bit more comfortable talking to him. It was almost like they had never had an argument at all.

But they had and she wasn't sure she was ready to open all the way up again just yet.

Morgan gave her a disbelieving look, "Why are you so calm right now? I thought you said you cared about JJ and Reid." He spat.

"I do, Derek. What's wrong?" Emily was starting to get angry again. She didn't like the tone he was using, it was like he was accusing her of something.

"I can't believe this!" Morgan shook his head, crossly.

Emily glared at him, "What is your problem?"

"This is!" His voice was rising, "I saw the body! I know it had to be one of them and we could have saved them like you said. We could have! But we didn't…I can't believe I thought they stood a chance. The odds were against them. There was no way-"

"Morgan, stop. What the hell are you talking about?" Emily asked him, very confused. She really had no idea what he was rambling on and on about. It made no sense.

Morgan stopped, "The body bag. Hotch and I saw it and we knew that it had to be…" He closed his eyes.

"No! No, it wasn't. It was Gale Kurray, Ray's wife." Emily explained, a little bit annoyed. Profilers always seemed to jump to conclusions, but at a time like this they really didn't have time to re-explain everything.

Relief seemed to wash over him, but he didn't say anything.

"Where's Hotch?"

Morgan looked around quickly, "After we saw the body bag he started walking down the road. I don't know where he was going. It's been…" He looked down at his watch, "15 minutes since he left."

Emily shook her head, "We don't have time for this." She said with a sigh, "Come on. Let's go see if-"

Morgan's phone ringing cut her off. He looked down at it.

"Are you really gonna answer that? I'm _talking_ to you, Morgan." Emily rolled her eyes, obviously still irritated with him. "And I thought that Hotch was hot-headed." She added, starting to walk away from him.

Morgan ignored her and answered it, "Hotch?" He asked into the phone.

Emily whipped around, listening to their conversation. Why would Hotch call if he had only walked a little ways down the road? Was something wrong? Maybe he was lost in the woods somewhere. That would definitely hit her last nerve.

"What?" Morgan's eyes went wide. He looked at Emily and pulled the phone away from his ear, pressing the speaker button. "Say that again."

There was a lot of panting. It sounded like Hotch had just finished a marathon. "I…found…them. I…found…JJ and Reid." He was getting his breath back. "They were…walking pretty close…a couple miles…away from where we were. They were at the top of this huge hill and I was at the bottom. I tried to call out for them, but I was too far away. JJ had fallen and Reid was helping her up, but that was when I realized that they each had their wrist tied together in some kind of leash thing that someone was pulling. I climbed the hill higher and saw Ray and Brian. They caught them again. I ran as fast as I could while calling their names and they looked around like they heard me but my foot got stuck in a root. By the time I got it out, they were driving away. They were going down the mountain, that's all I know."

Emily bit her lip, thinking quickly. "What about the plates, Hotch? Did you see the plates on the truck?"

"I was too far away, but I do know that it was a crimson Ford Explorer, that much I could tell. It looked pretty old, maybe a 2007 or 2008. One of its back tail lights was out because it wasn't lighting up." Hotch informed them.

"That's good. I'll put out an APB for it. And I can call Garcia and see if either Ray or Brian have a car like that so we can get the plates." Emily pulled out her own phone and walked away.

Morgan gulped, "So where are you?"

"Walking down the main road. I think I'm getting close to the house again. I'll tell you more when I get back." Hotch told Morgan and then hung up.

* * *

Leaves crunched underneath their feet. Other than the chirping of birds and the rustling of the trees, that crunching was the only sound between the pair. Reid didn't mind it. Even before they'd been abducted, he'd always liked the sound of leaves crunching so hearing it beneath his feet gave him all the comfort in the world. It felt like home. He glanced to the side to check on JJ again, his arm was around her waist to help her, but he still wasn't sure she was doing so good. He knew that there wasn't much time left for her and by the look he saw in her eyes he could tell that she knew too. They needed to find help if they were going to survive.

A few minutes later he felt JJ's grip on the back of Reid's shirt tighten. She was clutching it like it was her only lifeline and that frightened him.

He looked over at her, "Jayje, you okay?" He didn't know why he asked, he knew that she wasn't.

JJ looked like she was going to yes until she thought better of it. She shook her head, "I need to stop." Her voice was trembling, along with both of her hands.

Reid stopped, holding onto her like he was afraid that if he let her go then he would lose her. He was also pretty sure that he was the only thing holding her up. "Are you alright?" His heart was beating. He knew how a bacterial infection would end and he was worried that this was it.

"I just…" JJ sank to the ground, letting go of his shirt. "I need to throw up." She clung to a nearby tree and then coughed violently.

"Again?" Reid bit his lip. He knew that this couldn't be good for her body. She also hadn't had eaten anything which didn't console him much either. He bent down next to her and rubbed her back as she coughed.

After a few minutes passed she let out her last coughs, "Okay." She whispered hoarsely. "I'm done." She stood back up with his arm around her waist to help her. Between all her coughing and the loud sound or crunching leaves that they were making, neither of them heard the leaves that were crunching behind them.

"Well, well, well…" A dark, sinister voice boomed from behind them.

Reid whipped around to find himself face to face with Brian and Ray. He gulped and stepped in front of JJ who hadn't yet turned around. He could feel her body shaking against him and it didn't really help him in that moment.

Brian chuckled lightly, "I really thought that you guys were going to make this harder for me, but I have to say…I don't mind easy. It's actually quite refreshing." He smirked, "The fence was clever though. That's what I like about this FBI thing…it always leaves me guessing. You know what this reminds me of?"

Neither of them responded.

Brian smiled, "It _reminds _me of this book that I read. I'm sure you've heard of it. It's called The Most Dangerous Game. It's about this hunter who, after realizing that he is too good at hunting animals, decides that the most dangerous thing to hunt is humans. People _are _the most dangerous game."

"You _have _read it, haven't you Doctor Reid?" Ray asked, eyes on Reid.

Reid glared at both of them. "I have."

"Well, what do you think is the most dangerous game?" Brian raised his eyebrow.

Reid didn't want to answer because he didn't want to agree with them men, but he knew that people w_ere _the most dangerous, it was pretty much a fact in itself. He talked around it, "Considering that I don't hunt it would be impossible to decide because I would have nothing to compare it to." He explained quickly.

"An educated guess would be fine." Brian pushed.

Reid shook his head. There were a lot of things that he had to do for this man, but he didn't have to agree. "No."

Brian glared at him, looking ready to lurch forward at any moment and attack them.

The enraged tension between them was palpable.

"Please…" Reid never thought that he would be reduced to begging, but that was all he could think to do. "JJ is dying," he hated that he had to say out loud with her directly behind him, "and if she doesn't get a doctor soon you won't have anything to work with. Please…"

Ray looked past Reid at JJ, "He's right." He muttered, "But the antibiotics that we have in the car will do just fine and we also have some painkillers. Bet that sounds good right now, doesn't it?" He taunted, making his partner smile.

"Tell you what, we'll give your friend the antibiotics if you come with us, but if you run then she'll die before you make it halfway down the mountain. Your choice, Dr. Reid." Brian smiled and pulled a thick set of ropes out of the bag that he had on his back.

"Either way we're screwed over." Reid let out a loud sigh.

"No you're not. In one she survives, in the other she dies a slow, painful death. Which do you really think is the better choice? Come on doctor, I heard you were supposed to be quite good at deductive reasoning. This should be a walk in the park." Brian spoke smoothly.

Reid glanced back at JJ, "Alright…take us."

JJ protested, "No. Reid we can make it."

"Shhh…" Reid shook his head at her proposition and held out his wrists so that they could tie him up. There was an extra section of rope that they could use as a sort of leash to pull them along and make sure that they wouldn't escape. After they tied him up, they tied JJ too. Her eyes met his as they did it, but they almost looked angry like she couldn't believe that he had just gave them up like that, without a fight. He returned her gaze with a solemn look, almost apologetic. He had no choice.

"Where are you taking us?" Reid asked, not expecting an answer.

Surprisingly Brian actually answered, "The abandoned hospital on the outside of the city. They say that place is haunted." He smiled menacingly.

Reid saw JJ shiver beside him and he didn't feel too good about it either because if Brian was sharing their location with them, it obviously meant that they probably weren't going to make it out. This was time for some action. He just had to come up with a plan.

With that, Ray and Brian pulled the two weak FBI agents along by their leashes. They started up a large hill that even looked challenging for Ray and Brian to climb. This was going to be a challenge. Reid watched JJ out of the corner of his eye. It seemed that she had figured out a good strategy by using Brian's grip on her rope to pull herself up and keep her balance. He was glad it was working for her, but it didn't work as well with Ray because he was weaker than Brian so whenever Reid pulled on it Ray would just give the rope some slack. Reid was pretty much climbing the hill by himself.

It was safe to say that all four of them were relieved when they made it to the top. As Brian and Ray pulled them through the brush, Reid saw JJ trip. He wished that he could have moved to help her, but Ray's grip was tight now. All he could do was watch as she fell to the ground with her wrists suspended in the air from the rope that Brian was holding.

Reid moved over to help her, but Brian was yanking on the rope already in an effort to pull her off of the ground. It looked painful and by the look on her face he wasn't sure that she would be able to get up, but after a couple more yanks from him she started to get to her feet partially using Reid's elbow to pull herself up. They started to walk again until they heard it.

"JJ! Reid!" A voice called in the distance.

Brian and Ray heard it too, but they yanked both Reid and JJ forward, away from the voice that was coming from the bottom of the hill.

"Keep moving." Brian ordered, "If you look back or call back I will kill you both and whoever that is." He yanked JJ forward with so much force that she almost fell over again.

Reid followed behind Ray.

"REID! CAN YOU HEAR ME? IT'S HOTCH!" His voice was getting louder, maybe he would catch up to them. "REID! REID!"

Reid didn't know why he was mostly calling his name, maybe it was because he expected him to reply. But why? He didn't move to reply or even look, he just kept walking, slowing his pace ever so slightly so that Hotch would have the opportunity to catch up…maybe.

"JJ! REID! PLEASE ANSWER ME! I CAN SEE YOU!" Hotch yelled, his voice sounded desperate. "JJ! WILL AND HENRY ARE WAITING FOR YOU. JJ PLEASE!" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Reid looked over at her and saw that tears were sliding freely down her cheeks. JJ was crying. He wanted to go over and comfort her, put his arm around her and tell her that he would make sure that she _would _see Henry and Will again, even if he died trying. But he couldn't, not then. He saw the truck; it was a few feet away from them near what looked like an outhouse. The two men opened the back door and lead them in and while they did that, Reid glanced behind him to look for Hotch, but he was nowhere in sight and the yelling had also stopped. There was nothing he could do now. He had no plan…

Until, as he climbed into the truck after JJ, he saw something on the ground that could be of use.

A black sharpie.

He picked it up and shoved it into JJ's hand. He leaned over, "JJ…ask to use the bathroom." He breathed in her ear. He watched realization light up in her eyes and she shoved the

Ray and Brian pulled each of their doors open.

"What are you two whispering about back there?" Ray asked, turning to look back at them as they climbed into their seats.

Brian looked proud that Ray was stepping up.

Reid glanced at JJ, "Uh…before we leave JJ has to use the bathroom. That's a bathroom right?" He pointed to the outhouse looking thing.

"Yea." Ray looked at Brian, "I'll take her." He hopped out and yanked JJ's door open. He pulled her out by her leash thing and then pulled her over to the outhouse. "You have 5 minutes, that's all."

JJ nodded and stepped into the outhouse, closing the door behind her. Immediately she started scribbling rapidly on the walls. As much information as she could think of was being written as clearly as possible on the light wood walls. Before she knew it, Ray was banging on the door. It definitely hadn't been 5 minutes, but she had done enough. She set the sharpie on the toilet and then opened the door a crack, squeezing through it so he wouldn't see.

He pulled her back over to the car and they pulled out.

Now, all their team had to do was look in the outhouse and they would know where JJ and Reid were being taken to, but as they drove off neither of them saw Hotch.

He had seen the car drive away so he just turned around, pulled out his phone, and started walking back to the house…without even thinking to look in the outhouse. He had been so absorbed in relaying the news that he had missed the one thing that could help them…and he didn't even know it.


	17. One Touch

**Sorry this is so short, but you guys wanted an update and I was stuck so I figured that I would just post it. It's something...for now. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Emily came back out of the house again few minutes after she had finished her call with Garcia. She approached Morgan quickly with her phone still in her hand. "Garcia found the car that Hotch described, it belonged to Gale. We put out an APB for it and gave the plates to all the police stations near here. I also set up road blocks on the outside of the city."

Morgan crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head, "But they wouldn't leave. They're comfortable here and Brian's a narcissist, he'll want to rub it in our face. Plus they've done all the other murders here without being caught, they're confident." He profiled on a limb. He was sure he was right though.

"Maybe overly confident. They might have made a mistake." Emily countered, guessing.

Morgan shrugged, not giving an answer to that because he just wasn't sure of anything at the moment. "Where's Rossi? Maybe we should tell him what's hap-"

"Already told him. Right now, you and I are going to walk down this road and find Hotch so we can go back to where they were taken from. It is likely that either of them tried to leave us a clue or there at least might be some evidence there too that could help." Emily told him.

"No Emily. That's a waste of time." Morgan shook his head, defiantly. He didn't mean to stir up more tension between them, but he really didn't think this was a good trail to follow. "I think we should start driving, pick up Hotch on the road and then drive down the mountain. If we speed we might be able to catch them…" He followed what _he_ thought was right.

He had no idea that he was basically leading everyone in the wrong direction.

And they didn't have _that_ much time either, one wrong turn and they would lose their two beloved team members forever.

"Morgan," Emily started angrily, "I hate to say this…I really do, but you're wrong. It's already been too long, we've given them too much of a head start." She stopped and looked at the ground. "Do you ever have those gut feelings, where you feel like you know exactly what to do? When you feel like you're connected to someone so much that they're leading you in the right direction?"

Morgan nodded slowly.

Emily stared into his eyes, passion blazing in her own. "I feel like that right now, Derek! I feel like something is telling me to go look there, like JJ is right here…trying to convince me that I should follow my gut, just this once."

Morgan stood completely still for a few seconds with no emotion, until the silence was finally broken. "Here's what's gonna happen. I'll go get Rossi and we'll drive down the mountain to look for them while you take the other car and get Hotch. If either one of us gets a lead we'll call the others, okay? Deal?"

Emily didn't look completely satisfied, but at least she would get to go down there and investigate. "Fine." She walked away from him without another word. For some reason she just felt like she _needed _to get down there…that there was something there worth finding.

The start of the drive down the rocky road was silent other than the bumps of the tires against the unpaved path. She barely drove for a few minutes when she finally caught sight of Hotch, who waved the car down like he didn't think she was going to stop. She slowed to a stop in front of him and he climbed in.

"Prentiss." Hotch nodded in acknowledgement to her, "Where's Morgan and Rossi?"

Emily let her foot off the brake and the car rolled forward ever so slightly until she pressed down on the gas, "They're racing down the mountain, hoping to catch up to Brian and Ray, but you and I are going back to where they were taken from. There's something there, I know it."

"What? How can you be so sure?" Hotch looked skeptical, considering whether this was a waste of time or not.

"I just know Hotch! Call it woman's intuition, ESPN, whatever. I have a feeling; let's just call it that, a gut feeling." Emily shook her head. Why did men find it so hard to believe that she just had a hunch that something was there, a really strong hunch?

Hotch gave a small nod, "I know what you mean. I get those feelings all the time, but I never know whether I should follow them or not. And when I don't and something bad happens…I just can't help but wonder if things would've been different if I had." He muttered.

Emily was curious, "What are you talking about?"

He was silent for a few moments, "I had a bad feeling about this whole thing after JJ was slapped by Brian at the first party. I wanted to pull them out, make them come back no matter what they said, but I didn't. After the dog bite happened the feeling got stronger, but they wanted to stay…so I let them. And the next day…"

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault, Hotch." She tried vainly to comfort him, but she knew he was too stubborn to listen to anything she tried to offer.

"But I'll never forget the bad feeling I had, that I chose to ignore."

Emily slowed down as they got further away from the house, she was guessing it was close and when they approached a clearing Hotch pointed at it and she followed his direction, pulling in. She parked the car quickly, looking around at the deserted area. It seemed much more hopeless now that she was in the empty, evidence-free clearing.

"You know," She said as they both got out and started walking, "sometimes…a feeling is just a feeling."

* * *

"JJ…" Reid whispered as they traveled down the bumpy road of the mountain. He saw the trees whipping by through her window as he started to scoot towards her. She was in _really _bad shape now, before he had always referred to her as being in _pretty _bad shape, well, now it was turned up a notch. She was still deathly pale and he noticed that, not only were her hands still shaking, but the rest of her body looked to be trembling as well.

In his mind, he reviewed the symptoms of a bacterial infection.

_Swelling. _He glanced down at some of the wounds that were all over her body and noticed that they were severely swollen, so much to the point that Reid wondered why he hadn't observed it before. _Check. _

_Redness. _He also observed from the wounds that there was a tender redness around them. _Check._

_Fever. _He barely had to check her for that one. Since round two he had known that her temperature was above normal, but yet she was still having chills. Not a good sign. _Check. _

_Pain. _He glanced at her. _Check. _

_Severe shaking. _He looked down at her hands which were trembling along with the rest of her body, but he wouldn't call it severe. At least that was a good sign. That meant that the bacteria hadn't fully spread into her bloodstream yet. _Half-Check. _

_Low Blood Pressure. _No way to tell.

_Coma. _Negative…thank god.

_Organ failure._

_Death. _

No and no. She still had time, but not a lot of it. He realized that she couldn't wait until they got where they were going. She needed the antibiotics now and Reid knew that their captors had it with them. He touched JJ's hand tenderly, but her eyes were the only thing that moved in acknowledgement of his touch. They fluttered slightly and then closed again. She was too weak.

"Ray, Brian…" He started pleadingly. It wasn't about being strong and composed anymore, it was about surviving. "She's dying, please…I know you have the medicine she needs and if you wants us both for more rounds or even to kill us you need to give it to her now or else she'll die before we get there."

Ray glanced at Brian, who nodded and then Ray proceeded in to reaching into his medical bag. "I think you know how to do it." He muttered, handing a needle backwards to Reid, who took it thankfully.

The doctor stared down at it and wondered if JJ would even feel it. Numbness was another symptom of this type of infection that he couldn't necessarily observe. It could help her in this moment though because, with his little medical training he was sure it would take a few tries to get it right…

It took three to be exact, it took him three pokes to finally get it to the point that he needed. He squeezed the medicine into her and then handed the needle back to Ray.

The medicine didn't take immediate effect, and Reid had known it wouldn't, but yet he still found himself staring at her in hope that maybe, just maybe she would open her beautiful blue eyes and tell him that everything was okay.

She didn't. Her eyes stayed closed and he had to check every few minutes to make sure that she was still breathing.

He wasn't sure what to do at first, but as he saw her start to tremble again his instinct kicked in and he pulled her close to him. Her safe in his arms felt like the right thing to do and he hoped that she felt the same way.

He had the comfort of feeling her heart beating against his chest.

And then, out of nowhere, her hand moved reaching blindly for something…or someone.

Reid reached down and slid his hand into hers, squeezing it lightly with so much tenderness and warmth that he was sure that she knew she was safe there, for now, in his arms because he would do anything for her.

_Anything. _

Neither of them had to say any words or even look into each other's eyes because…all it took was one touch for them to feel safer than they had ever felt before.

One touch to know that even though they were almost sure that there was no way they would both make it out alive, everything would still be okay.

A feeling of safety can come at the oddest of times from the oddest of things, but the feeling that it brings is anything but odd. It gives a small dose of something that everyone at some point has, and then loses, only to crave again.

_Hope. _


	18. Time to Fight

"Got anything over there Hotch?" Emily called from one side of the large field that they were both searching in. The sun was starting to go down again so they had to start using flashlights to search the ground for anything. Emily thought that was easier because it made things stand out more against the bright lights.

"No!" Hotch called back as he leaned down to pick up a bottle cap off the ground, examining it quickly only to realize that it was, in fact, just a bottle cap, not some sort of clue that could lead them to the whereabouts of JJ and Reid. He glanced at the outhouse for a moment, but saw nothing peculiar about it so he looked down and started searching the grass again.

A couple more steps and he could have known exactly where they were.

They were both starting to get desperate to find something, _anything _that could help. Hotch crouched down and looked at something else, but that also only turned out to be a piece of broken glass. It was starting to frustrate him that everything he picked up and examined was insignificant to the case.

Emily, on the other side of the field, crouched down as well. She picked up something and stared at it skeptically. It was hard to see exactly what it was with just a flashlight, but after a few seconds of squinting at it, she identified it. "Hotch!" She waited for him to jog over before she held up the item in her hand, "It's a necklace…"

Hotch's eyes widened. He could recognize that anywhere, it was JJ's necklace. It was the one that her sister had given her the night before she had committed suicide. And now it was in the middle of this field. "She dropped it…"

"Or left it." Emily stood back up, closing her hand tightly around the necklace. This was the only thing from JJ and Reid that she had to hold on to, the only thing she had to convince herself that they were still alive.

"But why? What was she trying to tell us?" Hotch looked at Emily, for once, she detected emotion shining in his dark eyes: concern, desperation.

"Well her sister gave it to her before she committed suicide…" Emily started, staring down at the small heart-shaped necklace. She rubbed it lightly between her fingers and could see that it was wearing slightly already from all the times that JJ had rubbed the small heart between her own fingers.

"And now she's giving it to us." Hotch looked down at the ground. They both knew what this meant, but one of them had to say it out loud. So he did, but he put it simply. "This is the end…and they know it."

Emily shook her head, her eyes swimming slightly. The tears didn't fall. She would let them, she just had to convince herself that there was still hope, that there was still a way that they could find them, that they still had time. She glanced up and saw the outhouse out of the corner of her eye. She turned to look at it.

Hotch followed her gaze, "I'll go check it. You stay here and see if there's anything else that they may have left behind." He ordered gently, seeing the pain and confliction in her eyes. He walked leisurely over to the outhouse, almost sure that it was going to be empty and not to mention disgusting.

He had no idea how wrong he was.

As he pulled the door open, his jaw dropped. He uttered six short words, "We have to go right now!" He yelled dashing off from where he was and running towards the car.

Emily was confused, but she knew better than to question him. If Hotch was running there was probably a good reason for it so she followed his lead and hopped into the car as he sped down the road. He knew exactly where they were, but the only problem was that as likely as it was that they may find JJ and Reid alive, it was also just as likely that they would only find bodies.

"No." She heard Hotch say next to her as they started the drive.

She didn't understand, "What?"

"No," He repeated, "I know what you're thinking and I want you to stop. There's a good chance that they're dead, but there's also a chance that they're alive. There _is _a chance, Emily. They're strong, _especially_ together."

"But Hotch," Emily started, "You saw JJ…she's dying. Everyone knew it, even Will. Her condition is slowly eating away at her while Reid is trying hard to keep his sanity. Even if we only lose her, we'll lose Reid too, I know it."

Hotch nodded slightly, "I know it too."

"Can we just talk realistically for a second?" Emily asked, looking over at him. "I really want to believe that they made it out alive, but really? What's the probability of that? Why do we do that? Why do we set ourselves up to get hurt?"

"Optimism can be killer, but it can also be a savior."

"Hotch, I just…" Emily sighed, "If they're dead I don't think I'd be able to work anymore, not without them. Just the thought of not seeing their faces everyday makes me sick."

"I know." He nodded along. "They really do make everything a little bit brighter, don't they?"

"They really do."

"Emily, I know you said to be realistic and you think that this isn't, but I really feel like they could make it. I feel like they could get through this, don't you? Can't you feel it?" Hotch sent a glance over at her.

Emily sighed quietly, "I wish I could."

"It's like I can feel them, you know?"

"Maybe you just want them to be alive so much that you _think_ you can feel them." Emily looked at the ground as rain started to lightly fall from the dark grey clouds.

Hotch was silent.

"I want to believe that they're alive though, I really do. I want to think that I feel them, I want that." Emily looked over at him, but his eyes were on the road.

"They're a team, more importantly, they were on _this _team. They know how to work together and they know how to get into a killer's head. The only thing they have to do is buy some time." Hotch stated stiffly.

"It might not be that easy."

"I _know _it's not going to be easy, but I also know that they'll try because giving up isn't an option. JJ has Henry and Will and Reid has JJ. They both have something to live for."

Emily nodded slowly, "JJ is my best friend and Reid, he's…he and I, I don't even know. We're those kinds of friends that just know each other and can talk about anything. They both mean the world to me and to everyone else. You never really realize how much life means when someone you love is losing theirs." She stared out the window for a moment, "We should pray, that gives me hope, praying."

"I haven't stopped praying since they were taken."

* * *

The car came to a stop in an abandoned parking lot outside of an old, broken-down building. The windows were either cracked or broken, there were no doors and there was a significant amount of trash littering the ground outside of it. No one was in sight. It was deserted and barren: the perfect place to transfer and even torture victims.

Ray stepped out of the car, opened and closed the door and easily pulled JJ out of the car. She was so tired, she just wanted to stop fighting…she wanted it to end. Life, that is. It was a scary thought, but oddly enough…it was also a pleasant thought. All the agony and torment would be over, all the fear and uncertainty…

Gone.

She tried to walk, but it just seemed like her limbs didn't want to move so in order for Ray to get her in the building he had to throw her frail body over his shoulder and carry her in himself. She was immensely relieved that she wasn't being forced to walk anymore because in the last hour or so…that had become an exceedingly difficult task. When she looked over her shoulder to her right she saw Reid walking behind Brian on his leash thing. Sympathy coursed through her. That looked a lot more painful than being carried like she was.

The edges of her vision started to blacken. Her eyelids drooped slightly and she felt more tired than she'd ever been in her life. It was like a consistent exhaustion that was slowly, gradually weakening her whole body. It was too late for her and she knew it, so why did she have to hold on? What was the point anymore?

"JJ! Stay awake! You hear me? Keep your eyes open!" Reid called over to her, desperately.

JJ heard the sound of Brian's fist meeting Reid's cheek. "Shut up, kid!" He growled before starting to pull him by his leash again towards the doorway of the building.

"Think about Henry! Your son, JJ!" Reid yelled loudly again despite the first punch that he had taken, but after he received a second, harder one from Brian he became sickeningly quiet.

Reid was right, though.

_Think about Henry. He's at that age when he needs both of his parents; a mother and father. He needs you, JJ. He needs you. Will needs you. Reid needs you. He took a whole round of beating for you and it wasn't for you to just give up. That's not an option anymore._

_ It's live…or die trying._

"Ray," Brian looked over at him with a fiery look blazing in his dark green eyes, "it's time."

Time for what? Neither Reid nor JJ really knew for sure, but they were both pretty sure that the thing that it was time for wasn't going to be a good thing. So if it was 'time' for Ray and Brian, it was 'time' for Reid and JJ too.

It was time for them to fight.

JJ met Reid's eyes and gave him a small nod with a specific, readable look in her eyes. They had to trust each other if they were going to try and fight through this. They were both weak, but if they could just escape and start a chase they would have a chance.

It was a small chance, but they didn't need a miracle. They just needed something to happen and delay what they and their captors knew was going to be coming soon.

Ray pretty much just dropped JJ on the ground and then rolled his eyes at how she just laid still on the ground after that, "She's done." He shook his head with a dopey smirk on his face. He was completely content with himself.

"Yeah, this one is too. It's almost too easy." Brian walked over to Reid and pointed down at him. He stared at them for a few more seconds and then shook his head, "There's no way that there is anymore fight left in them, right? Tell me if I'm wrong Ray…I thought we did enough damage." He sounded unsure, second-guessing himself.

JJ's stomach dropped, they needed them to think they were vulnerable, giving up. That was the plan that both she and Reid were following, despite the fact that they had never talked about it. They just knew, it was weird how they could talk through their eyes like they did. But it was also great.

"I _think_ we did." He said the word 'think' with the same uncertainty in his own voice.

Someone had to act; they had to get both of the men to believe that they were defenseless. "Please…" She begged, feeling sick to her stomach. Being reduced to begging was one of the things that she'd told herself she would never do, but this was different, wasn't it?

"Oh, Jennifer, what's wrong? I know you're in pain…I know. I'm just about ready to make that all go away, what about you? I know you have a son and a husband, but are you going to fight for them?" Brian asked her, tauntingly. "They need you don't they? I mean, last time I checked…people who grow up without mothers turn out like, well, like me."

"Not all of them." JJ whispered, just loud enough for all three men to hear her. "Just…please, make the pain go away." The pleading in her voice came so easily that even she was surprised. She didn't really want to die, did she? The pain was unbearable and she felt like she never would recover. Will had Henry, Reid had Emily…they all had someone to help them get over her. Maybe to help Reid get away that was the best thing to do. She glanced over at him.

They would cross that bridge when they came to it.

"No, JJ! You can't give up. We can make it…" Reid pleaded with her, but she knew him. She could tell that he was lying; he was playing along with her charade. "It's not over..." he trailed off a little bit questioningly, like he wasn't sure of himself.

JJ whipped her head around to look at him. "Yes. It is, Reid. We're not getting out of this! If the team had any good leads they would have found us by now, right? It's over…and they'll get it over it, they'll get over us. We just need to remember that. They'll forget." Her eyes met his.

He looked genuinely surprised at the depth of her answer.

She shook her head ever so slightly.

It was a sign to him that said: _I'm not giving up, not yet. _

* * *

_**A/N: **__Hey everyone! I'm going through and trying to update my stories, but it's taking time. Writing does take time, so sorry for updating everything so slow. I really like writing this story so I'm always trying to go through and make sure everything is good before posting it. It's getting close to the end which means even slower updates. Sorry! I'll try my best to update as quick as possible. Thanks for reading and make sure you review!_


	19. His Choice

"Morgan, slow down! Dear god…" Rossi gripped the door tightly, "You're taking the corners too fast. We're gonna drive right off of a cliff." He wasn't being sarcastic or funny this time, he really was scared for his life.

And right now, _his _life was not the one that they needed to be worried about.

"We have to catch them Rossi!" Morgan protested, not slowing down. He flew around another curve without so much as a flinch. He had a crazed, desperate look in his eyes and he was gripping the steering wheel with an intensely tight grip.

"Morgan!" Rossi exclaimed, looking disbelievingly at Morgan and when the other man sped around another corner, Rossi squeezed his eyes shut and gripped the sides of the car even harder than he had before.

Morgan didn't say anything.

"MORGAN! STOP THE CAR!" Rossi yelled, re-opening his eyes and looking desperately at his partner.

Morgan flinched from the sudden shouting and then started pressing on the brakes. The car slowed down slowly and gradually. Once they were completely stopped in the middle of the deserted road, he finally looked at Rossi.

He looked drained, but still had hope in his eyes.

Rossi let go of the sides of the car, hesitantly and then let out a quick sigh. He really didn't want to have to be the one who had to say this, "Did you really think we would be able to catch them?"

Morgan stared ahead blankly for what seemed like a long time. Finally, after the long pause he closed his eyes and shook his head ever so slightly.

Reality hit him hard.

"I just…I needed to do _something. _I needed to help in some way. Sitting here, waiting…its killing me! I don't know what to do anymore!" Morgan's face was red with anger. He hit the steering wheel and then got out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him.

Rossi followed him out, "I know how you feel, I really do. I feel the anger that you're feeling, but what I have that you don't is experience. I've had plenty of teams and plenty of colleagues, but I've never met a pair as extraordinary as JJ and Reid, _especially _when they're together. There's so much love, compassion and strength between those two people and if that isn't enough to get through this then…I don't know what is."

Morgan slowly turned back around to face Rossi, tears stains unmistakable on his cheeks. "I can't…I can't do this anymore. The false hope, the guessing, the praying, the feeling of…not knowing what's going to happen next. How can you stand it? They…Reid and JJ are the youngest and most innocent people on this team. I just wish it could have been me."

Rossi looked at him, "You wish it could have been you? So that you could be wounded right now with JJ, trying to keep her safe and Reid would be here, tearing himself apart for the same reason that you are now." He raised his eyebrows.

"Fine." Morgan gave in easily, seeing the point that Rossi was trying to make. "But this still shouldn't have happened. And I know that this is bad, but…" He didn't know how to finish.

Morgan avoided Rossi's eyes as he added the next part, "I really just want them to be okay…because JJ has a s_on. _She has a kid, man! I can't help, but think about what would happen to Henry if…"

"Stop."

Morgan looked over at Rossi, his eyes blank.

Rossi shook his head and spoke with so much passion in his voice, that Morgan was forced to meet his eyes. "That will _not_ happen. Henry _will_ have a mother _and_ a godfather."

Morgan didn't look like he believed the other man, "How do you know that for sure?" It seemed to him, that Rossi was just saying that to calm him down or maybe even to just shut him up.

"I don't."

Morgan gave him an incredulous look, but before he had the chance to challenge the older man's reasoning…the loud chirping of his phone ringing broke the silence. He felt his heart beat speed up before he even reached into his pocket. He glanced at the caller ID and mouthed 'Emily' to Rossi so he would know who it was.

They both knew that Hotch and Emily had gone back to the field where Hotch had seen them. And Morgan and Emily had agreed to call each other if they found anything. Well, here was a call.

This could be it…whatever _it _was.

His voice shook slightly as he answered, "A-Agent Morgan."

Rossi closed his eyes, praying.

_Please, God, let's have some good news. They're such good people and they work every single day to help people, so just this once...help them. Guide them, let them escape, let them come home, let them __**live.**__ Just, please… __**please **__give us some good news._

By the time Rossi finished his prayer; Morgan was hanging up the phone and climbing back into the car. That caught Rossi by surprise because he had no idea why they where they were going, but he followed anyway. "Morgan, what did they say?"

"Good news or bad news?" He asked as he started speeding down the road.

Rossi was desperate to hear something good, "Good news first."

Morgan let out a pant before continuing, "They know where Brian and Ray took Reid and JJ. Apparently one of them wrote the address on the inside of an outhouse. It's an abandoned hospital just outside the city."

Relief flooded through Rossi's body and he let out a long sigh, "Well thank god. Finally we can actually do something about all of this." He smiled and closed his eyes for a few seconds before adding, "So what's the bad news?"

Morgan's smile faded, "When they were looking through the field they found JJ's necklace…she left it there and they think it means that she knows the end is coming." He glanced at Rossi, "And I feel it too. I don't know why…or how, but I feel end coming…" He said, not realizing just how ominous he sounded.

Rossi didn't look up as he spoke, "Maybe it's already here."

* * *

Reid had always been that skinny kid in school, the smart kid, who lacked most of the physical skills that guys were 'supposed to have'. But the mile run…that was one thing he was good at. Being as light as he was, running was an easy task…a relaxing task, even.

Until you're running for something important.

Like money, or time…

Or life.

As he ran from the building, his feet felt heavy. He took long strides and pumped his arms as he hard as he could, but yet…he still felt slow. Sure, his wounds slowed him down a little bit, but there was something else that was slowing him down more.

And he knew what it was. He knew what was holding him back:

JJ.

Frantically, carefully he replayed their escape in his mind.

_Reid watched as Ray and Brian started pulling various terrifying instruments out of a duffle bag. Among them, two knives, two guns, and a hammer. Out of those three items, Reid was the most terrified of the hammer. It would cause the most pain and take the most time to kill them. He glanced to his right and saw JJ, laying in the same spot that she had fallen in. She hadn't spoken in a while and he was worried. _

_Was she even alive?_

_His question was answered when he saw her lift her head, "What are those for?" Her voice was fierce. _

_"I think you both know the answer to that, you're intelligent enough." Ray answered, picking up the hammer. He held it tightly in his hand and looked down at JJ, like he wanted to hit her over the head with it right then and there. _

_"Fair enough." JJ smirked, "Oh…hammer. Good weapon choice. Slow, but its captor's choice I guess." She muttered, sarcastically. _

_Reid wondered how she was so calm and sarcastic at a time like this. He found himself getting a little bit desperate. They needed to get out before Ray actually started using that hammer. He looked to his left and saw a broken window. That could prove to be a quick escape, but Brian was behind Ray holding a gun. If they tried to run, they would be dead in one shot. _

**_Think Reid, think. _**_Reid told himself, __**She's giving you a distraction. Now you have to pull your weight and figure out an escape. **_

_"And what do you know about weaponry? You're just the pretty one that bats her eyes and gets whatever she wants. I bet you've never had to rough anyone up before, you leave that to the boys don't you?" Ray bent down so that he was at eye level with her. _

_JJ met his eyes, defiantly. "I can handle myself just fine." She smirked, "But I'll admit…sometimes the best thing that I can do is bat my eyes."_

_"Is that so?" Ray chuckled a little bit, leaning towards her. _

_Reid was watching now, afraid of what this man was about to do. She was weak, bleeding. There was no way that he would take advantage of her now…if he wanted it, he would have done it a long time ago. But still, he watched and waited to make sure nothing happened to her. _

_Ray leaned in further, closing his eyes. "You still smell like fresh flowers. It's too bad that'll all change after you're dead." He opened his eyes again and then pulled back, staring at her for a reaction…for some fear. _

_She didn't give it to him, "Brian." _

_The other man looked up, "Yes?" He smiled. _

**_The broken window! _**_Reid thought, __**Broken window means broken glass. **__He looked over at it and saw all the scattered pieces of sharp glass on the ground. He just had to get over there unnoticed…somehow._

_"I hope you don't mind me asking, but seeing as we're going to die soon I figured I might as well give it a shot. You've been killing couples. Blonde haired woman with blue eyes and brown haired men with hazel eyes. Very specific." JJ met his eyes, "Who are we supposed to be, Brian? _

_That was perfect. It was just the distraction that Reid needed to be able to slid over to the glass. _

_He chuckled and looked down at the gun in his hands, "I was an only child. My dad was a drug addict and my mom was head over heels in love with him. She was heart-broken when he left and she told me never to trust anyone. I should never let anyone in because love doesn't last. But I ignored it." He paused and then smiled, "The woman I fell in love with was named Mary. She was a blonde bombshell with striking blue eyes. After a year and a half of dating, I proposed and she said yes. The wedding was supposed to be the year after that, but a week before it happened I found out that she was screwing one of her co-workers."_

_"And he had brown hair and hazel eyes?" JJ guessed. _

_Brian nodded, "I hated him…and her. He was a home-wrecker and she was a slut. They were both just…" He stopped, anger radiating in his eyes. "I remarried to Laura, but it was never the same as Mary. And last month I get this letter in the mail. It was an invitation to their wedding. Mary and that guy…I couldn't take it anymore."_

_JJ nodded, putting it all together. "So you started killing." _

_He grinned, "Best decision I've ever made. You know, most people would think I'm crazy….but the truth is: you're all just as crazy as me. Tell me…if you had the chance, would you kill me? Would you kill Ray?" He raised his eyebrow. _

_She opened her mouth to answer, but he didn't let her._

_"I know you would. So what makes you any better than me? You're no better than me Agent Jareau. I know you've killed someone before, a headshot. I read it online when I looked you up. Didn't even flinch, did you? What does that say about your character?" _

_JJ glared at him, her gaze intense. "I am __**nothing **__like you."_

_"Oh, but you are. And once you realize that, you'll see what you're capable of. You would see what kind of a mother your son actually has." Brian spat and then stood up, "It's time."_

_Ray nodded and pulled out two chairs. He easily lifted up JJ and put her in the chair, tying her wrists behind her. He smiled in her face before also lifting Reid up and tying him to a chair next to her. _

_Now, Reid could easily see JJ. _

_She looked terrible. Her face was covered in sweat and there was blood all over her clothes, which made him extremely nervous. Their eyes met and he tried to give her the most reassuring smile that he knew how. _

_As Ray and Brian were getting their weapons ready, Reid was using a piece of broken glass that he had picked up earlier to cut his ropes. It was taking longer than he had originally hoped, but by the time they were both finished getting ready, his ropes were cut. He didn't alert them to that though. He was holding the ends tightly in his hands so it would still look like he was tied. He just had to wait until one of them was close enough. _

_Ray was the one who approached Reid while Brian was walking up to JJ. He stepped slowly towards Reid like he was planning what to say once he got there, "I've never been so excited to kill someone before. Are you as excited as I am Dr. Reid?" He stepped in close, holding the knife in Reid's face. _

_That was close enough. _

_Reid let go of the ropes and brought his hands out. He swung rapidly, punching Ray in the cheek. It was so forceful and unexpected that Ray fell to the ground where Reid kicked him two more times to knock him out. _

_Brian was moving towards him when he looked up, but Reid had an easy solution for that. He reached behind him and picked up the wooden chair. As Brian got close, Reid swung the chair around and hit Brian as hard as he could with it. _

_It broke on impact, but it had also successfully knocked Brian out. _

_They were both knocked out and the door was wide open. He grinned in triumph. _

_"Spence." JJ whispered, smiling in her chair, "You were amazing."_

_Reid picked up the piece of broken glass and walked over to her. Her ropes were cut within a couple of seconds, "You were amazing too. Without your distraction I would have never been able to get the glass."_

_JJ hugged him tightly, "I love you Spence. I love you so much."_

_"I love you too, Jayje." He pulled away, "But now…we have to go. We have to get out of here before they wake up." He started walking towards the door when JJ grabbed his arm and stopped him. _

_"Spence…" Her eyes were wide, staring across the room. _

_Reid followed her eyes, but there was nothing there. He tilted his head, confused…until he realized that that was the point. There was nothing there, but broken chair pieces which Brian had been laying among just a few seconds earlier. _

_He was gone. _

_Reid grabbed JJ's hand and started running, "Come on we have to go!" He yelled, sprinting out of the building. As they ran their hands became disconnected. _

_While running, he heard shuffling behind him and he glanced back only to see that Brian had his arms around JJ's waist. He was pulling her back towards the building. _

_But Reid didn't stop._

The adrenaline had blinded him. He froze in his tracks, thinking. Logically, he knew he should run, but how could he do that? How could he desert a man's wife and a boy's mother? Tears stung his eyes before he could even make a decision.

If he left, she would die.

If he went back, he would die.

That kind of a choice was enough to make him cry because he didn't care about being strong anymore. What he cared about was in the building behind him, probably getting tortured. The only problem was that he wasn't sure what would help her more.

Did she have enough time for him to run and get help?

No.

Did he have enough strength to fight them off if he went back?

No.

It seemed like either way, one of them would die. There was no way to save the both of them and if one of them had to die, honestly it was better him than her. He had no family, no wife, no child. All he had was JJ and she was in danger.

But there was also a good chance that if he went back, it would get them both killed. So he had to figure out a way to go back and somehow…overtake both Ray and Brian to give JJ a window of time to escape. Hopefully after she was gone they would proceed to deal with him just like they did with JJ after he had run.

He knew he had to go back for her.

He turned around and started jogging back towards the building. It looked sinister and uninviting. There was a large doorway that led into the large, dark room that Ray, Brian and JJ were in. They were further into the room so there was no way that they could see Reid, but Reid couldn't see them either. He was basically going in blind, hoping for the best.

And then he heard it. He heard the worst noise that he could have ever imagined, especially at a moment like this:

JJ's scream.

It was long, high-pitched scream that seemed to echo off the sides of the building and radiate out. It made him sick to his stomach, but he continued to listen because it sounded like she was saying something. He stopped walking, frozen.

"Say it." Brian said, threateningly.

He could hear JJ's sobs as she replied, "No."

"Ray." That was all Brian had to say.

And then Reid heard the terrible sound of Ray's fist hitting JJ. He wasn't sure where, but the fact that he could hear it from where he was didn't give him much comfort.

"Say it now!" Brian yelled, his rage clear in his voice.

"Stop!" She screamed, "No! NO! Reid! REID DO NOT COME BACK. Don't you dare come back here! YOU RUN! If you can hear me, you run as fast as you can away from here! GET OUT OF HERE REID!" Her yells were frantic, pained.

After that the screams got worse, but now they were only screams…no words.

So Reid made his choice.

With JJ in mind and in heart, he turned and he ran.


	20. Minute by Minute

Brian pressed the knife into JJ's back, threateningly. "Yell for him to come back. Yell as loud as you can. Say that you need help, say that we're hurting you. Say whatever you need to say to get him back in here. Got it?"

"No." She mumbled.

He pressed the knife harder into her back, making a growing dark red spot on the back of her shirt, "Say it." He ordered.

"No." She replied, simply.

Brian looked over at his friend to take care of the situation, "Ray."

Ray walked over and without even a second thought; he pulled her head up by her hair and punched her in the cheek.

"Say it now!" Brian yelled, anger radiating in his eyes.

JJ decided to take a chance. She knew that she was never getting out of this, that much was clear to her. But if she could make sure that Reid did, then maybe that was enough. "Stop!" She screamed, "No! NO! Reid! REID DO NOT COME BACK. Don't you dare come back here! YOU RUN! If you can hear me, you run as fast as you can away from here! GET OUT OF HERE REID!" It hurt to yell, but she pushed through.

"God damn it!" Brian muttered, "Ray. Shut her up."

Ray slapped JJ across the face, on the same cheek that he had punched her.

Brian walked away from Ray and JJ, towards the opening. He looked out of it and shook his head, "He's running Ray. He'll be gone soon if we don't go after him, well…if _you _don't go after him." He chuckled maniacally.

Ray's gaze flickered down to the table where all of the instruments, or weapons, were sitting. And JJ thought that she almost saw anger in his calm, steely gaze…but he controlled it quickly and picked up a gun. His exterior was calm, but there was excitement bursting in his eyes.

"What are you doing? Don't take the last gun. I need that to keep her in line, why don't you take one of the knives with you or maybe even the-"

"Shut up!" Ray yelled, raising the gun at Brian.

Brian looked completely caught off guard, confused even. "Uh…Ray? What are you doing? Put the gun down." He ordered.

Without even blinking, Ray fired a warning shot into the wall behind Brian.

JJ flinched from where she was lying on the ground. She was watching insanity unravel in front of her and she couldn't be happier about it. The more time they spent fighting with each other was less time they would have to chase Reid down and to deal with, or maybe even kill her.

Brian raised his hands up in surrender.

Ray nodded and chuckled, "That's right. You thought you were the mastermind. You thought you were making all the plans, but who set up all the cameras? Who came up with the first three rounds? Who was the one who told you that they were FBI agents? Me! It was me Brian! It was all me from the beginning. But now, you're trying to ruin everything. Don't you get it? If we bring them both back here then we'll get caught. They're team is good, they're probably on their way right now. Who knows? We will get caught if we do it this way. I promise you. But to make sure that doesn't happen, you need to go get Doctor Reid and then-"

"And why should I take orders from you?"

"Because I've done this before Brian. And I got away with it." Ray stepped closer to Brian with the gun still trained on him, "I'm also the one holding the gun. So I suggest you go get our run away doctor before I'm forced to use it."

Brian stared at him, weighing his options. It almost looked like he was trying to look for an exit in the building that he could make it out of before getting shot.

Ray cocked the gun.

"Alright, alright. I'll do it, Mr. Mastermind. But where do I take him?"

"You know where. Just make sure that no one sees you."

Brian nodded and then picked up a knife begrudgingly, mumbling something about how he should have never asked Ray to help him out with this before walking leisurely out of the opening. A few moments later, they both heard the sound of the car starting.

Ray smirked in satisfaction.

"How do you know he's actually gonna do it?" JJ asked, without even picking her head up off of the ground. She was too weak.

Ray smiled, "Once you start something…you have to finish it. It's Serial Killer 101, you'd think one of the country's best profilers would have known that." He shrugged.

JJ met his eyes, hers getting harder and harder to keep open. "So what now? Are you going to kill me?" She found herself oddly relieved at the thought.

Ray shook his head, "That would be too easy. Another Serial Killer Lesson: You always challenge yourself and what I'm going to do is…well, it's gonna be great. That is, if everything actually goes right…which it will."

JJ didn't reply. She could feel her mind shutting down, as she was about to lose consciousness.

"Unfortunately, for everything to work out…I'm going to have to make sure that you don't remember this conversation." Ray chuckled before quickly lifting the butt of the gun and then hitting it against her head a couple of times until he was sure that she was out.

And then, he reached into the bag full of instruments to pull out JJ's phone. Using it, he texted the emergency text number. All the text said was: Agent Down, Abandoned Hospital in Downtown.

Once that was done he picked up the gun again. He looked down at JJ's still body before pulling back the switch on the back of the gun with a small click. He hesitated, wondering why this was so hard. _I just have to do it…_He told himself. _Just…do it. _

He had a sudden burst of confidence…and with that, he twisted the end of the gun back towards himself, and fired.

* * *

Hotch glanced up at the rear view mirror and noticed a car following closely behind them, "Is that Morgan and Rossi behind us?" He asked Emily.

She turned around and squinted, "I…I'm not sure." She pulled out her phone and dialed Morgan's number. It took a few seconds for him to answer, "Are you guys following us?" She asked.

_"Yes, but we're running out of gas. We're gonna have to stop before we get there. You guys go ahead though. When you get there and figure everything out, give me a call we aren't there." _

"Alright. And Morgan, be careful."

_"Touché."_

Emily hung up, "It is them, but they're running out of gas so they're gonna have to stop. Morgan said that we should keep going though and call them once we figure out what's happening. That is, if they're not there yet." She explained.

Hotch only nodded.

Emily was restless. She was tapping her fingers against the middle console and her legs just wouldn't stay still. She was extremely anxious about what they were going to find at this abandoned hospital.

Hotch noticed her uneasiness, "We're at least 20 minutes away now."

Emily nodded, leaving a tense silence between them.

Neither of them seemed to notice. They were taking it one minute at a time.

_19 minutes. _

They reached the end of the mountain.

_18 minutes. _

They passed a large factory.

_17 minutes. _

Hotch skidded around a turn too fast and almost took out the yellow caution sign on the curve.

_16 minutes._

They passed a gas station where Morgan and Rossi's car branched off.

_15 minutes. _

They passed the airport.

_14 minutes. _

They ran into some traffic and Hotch was forced to turn on the sirens.

_13 minutes. _

Red light.

_12 minutes._

Hotch pulled off of the road and drove through the grass to pass the traffic.

_11 minutes._

It started to drizzle.

_10 minutes. _

The rain got harder and with it came the thunder and lightning.

_9 minutes._

They hit a puddle and swerved.

_8 minutes._

It started to pour.

_7 minutes. _

Most of the cars had their hazard lights on because of how bad the rain was.

_6 minutes. _

Hotch turned to Emily, "5 minutes away." He gave her a reassuring smile.

She didn't say anything, only stared directly ahead, her expression unreadable.

_5 minutes. _

They passed the airport.

_4 minutes._

They saw a strike of lightning touchdown chillingly close to where they were.

_3 minutes. _

Emily's phone rang, it was Garcia. She told them that an emergency hotline had received a text message from JJ's phone that said: _Agent Down, Abandoned Hospital in Downtown._

_"You guys will probably get there before the paramedics do because of the rain so be careful, who knows where Brian and Ray went?" Garcia said, "Just bring back Junior G-man and my sugarplum, okay?"_

All Emily said was, "Thanks Garcia." Because she knew that there was a chance that they wouldn't bring them back.

_2 minutes. _

Emily explained everything to Hotch.

_1 minute._

"We're close now. We're really close." Hotch told Emily.

And then they both saw it: The Abandoned Hospital, looking as abandoned as ever.

Hotch pulled in and skidded to a stop directly next to the doorway.

Emily was out before the car even stopped. She was only in the rain for a few seconds, but still found herself soaked when she got inside. It was dark in the room because of the dark clouds blocking the sun.

"Help…" A weak voice pleaded.

Emily turned to her left and saw him lying there, Ray. He had a gunshot wound in his stomach that was bleeding heavily. He had his hands over it, but his face was pale and it looked like he was struggling to stay awake. She went over to him and put her hands over his, pressing down hard on the wound, harder then she should have. "Where are they?"

Ray winced, "Over there. She's been out for a while. Brian hit her over the head with that gun and then…he-he…shot me. I was helping him and he shot me out of nowhere."

Emily almost felt bad for him until she realized he hadn't said anything about Reid, "What about Dr. Reid?"

Ray shook his head, "He got away…and Brian left to catch him." His breathing was extremely labored.

Hotch ran into the room, sounding out of breath. "What…?"

"Reid escaped, Brian knocked JJ out, shot Ray and then went after Reid." Emily briefed him quickly.

Hotch took it in quickly, "Where's JJ?" He started looking around, but it was too dark to really see anything around them.

"Over there." Ray pointed to their right.

Hotch walked through the darkness until he saw the outline of a figure lying down on the ground. He automatically knew that it was JJ. He bent down next to her, "I found her. She's lying on the ground over here." He said, "Looks like…a lot of burns, cuts, bruises and her head's bleeding pretty bad. She also has a really deep cut on her thigh that looks infected."

"Is she alive?"

Silence.

"Hotch! Is she alive?" Emily called frantically.

He still didn't reply.

"Hotch, you tell me if she's alive or dead right now or I will come over there and figure it out myself!" Emily yelled, getting angry…or maybe it was panic. She just needed to know what was going on, desperately.

Still silence.

"I didn't think he hit her that hard." Ray said, alarm in his voice.

Emily shot him a glare, "Shut up. You don't get to talk. You're the reason that this happened to her. You watched, you sat by and watched a man do this to them. There has to be a part of you that knows that's wrong. But you didn't do anything. You let him do this, you killed her! So youdo _not _get to talk!"

"Emily." Hotch called, "She's alive."


	21. Just Like Mommy

Hotch had to drive to the hospital in the SUV by himself because Emily rode along in the ambulance with JJ. He took the time to call Morgan and Rossi to inform them of the situation. They didn't take it well, but that didn't surprise him. How could anyone take this news well? But they agreed to meet at the hospital. After that, he decided to call some police officers and tell them to keep an eye out for Reid and Brian, but it didn't go as well as he'd planned. All of the officers were up in the mountains bagging up evidence and searching the perimeters of the forest just like he had told them before. He was furious, not with them, but with himself.

"Well can't you just gather them up and drive down here?" Hotch asked as he got out of his car and walked towards the hospital doors.

_"Yes sir, we can, but I don't think we'll be down there in near enough time to catch up with Agent Reid or the suspect."_

"Just do what you can." Hotch hung up abruptly, not bothering to hear the man's response. The waiting room looked empty and it was almost completely silent. His shoes thudded and squeaked against the floor as he walked because of how much water was in them. He walked straight up to the counter, "Excuse me, ma'am. Is Jennifer Jareau here yet?"

"Yes sir, she just arrived."

Hotch nodded, "Can you tell me how she is?"

"I'm afraid that I can't unless you are a family member." The woman replied, giving him a sympathetic look.

Hotch wanted to argue and yell at the woman because she didn't understand the circumstances that he was under, but he held back. She was just doing her job and he knew how hard that could be sometimes, "Alright thank you." He sat down and immediately started to dial Will's number.

He didn't even hear the sound of heels clicking against the floor as they walked towards him.

"Hotch."

He looked up and saw Emily, completely soaked, standing in front of him. He got to his feet, "How is she?" He barely noticed that he had dropped his phone from his hand to clatter to the floor. He picked it up quickly and then gave his full attention to Emily.

She shook her head, "I-I…they said that it was bad and that they couldn't get her to wake up. A-and then she started crashing…and they shocked her three times. She was dead for a minute and a half before they finally revived her."

Hotch gulped, listening carefully.

"And then she was awake, well sort of. She kept mumbling and reaching for me, but she was too weak to hold on to my hand. It just kept slipping off so I had to hold onto hers. That's weird isn't it?" There was a hollow look in her eyes, "Someone holding your hand or you holding theirs. You usually don't even consider it because you're both holding the other's hand, but in that ambulance I knew that I had to hold her hand. I had to pull her weight. I had to be the one that wouldn't let go. Because I knew that if I didn't, she wouldn't either."

Hotch was touched and slightly chilled by her statement. It really brought him into a whole new perspective, but before he could really explore that he had to ask the question that had surfaced in his mind, "What did she say? When you were in the ambulance, what did she say?"

Emily shrugged and shook her head like she didn't know, "She kept saying stuff about Ray and Spence and screaming and…something about a movie. A lot of stuff that didn't make any sense. One of the doctors said that she was probably delirious, but she kept mumbling the same things over and over. I don't know, do you think she was trying to tell me something?"

Hotch creased his eyebrows in thought, "Maybe…if you think of anything else just say so because she might know where Reid went."

Emily nodded, "Yea okay. Oh and they said that Ray's wound wasn't too bad, the only problem was that there was no exit wound so they would have to remove the bullet and repair all the damage. He was fine the last time I saw him though; awake and responsive." She muttered bitterly. The irony of the situation was cruel.

As Hotch and Emily sat down, the doors swung open again to reveal a soaked Morgan and Rossi. "What the hell happened to you two?" Hotch asked.

Morgan ran his hand over his smooth head, "The gas station we went to didn't have a cover. So what happened?"

Hotch explained everything quickly and efficiently.

Morgan looked unsettled, "Well what about Reid? Shouldn't we be out there looking for him?" He asked.

"I sent the officers to do it, but they said that they might not get back down here for a couple of hours at the least." Hotch glanced at Emily, considering whether they should look for Reid or be there for JJ when she woke up.

Morgan huffed angrily.

Emily tried not to listen. She really didn't want to hear her friends argue about which one of their team mates needed the most of their attention right now.

"Here's what we're going to do." Hotch said, "Morgan and Rossi. I want you two to go out and start looking for Reid, canvass the area as best you can. Here, take the other SUV, but try not to separate. Stay together as best you can."

Rossi took the keys, "Call us about JJ." He said before following Morgan out of the hospital. They left just as quickly as they came.

It was quiet for a few moments before Emily broke the silence, "You didn't have to stay." She said.

"JJ is my friend too and I want to be here for her because I wasn't when I supposed to be, so I will be now." Hotch leaned back in his chair.

Emily looked over at Hotch, "I didn't know that you and JJ were that close."

"We aren't _that _close. Not as close as you two are, but I do care about her…and Reid. I really just hope that this isn't the end for them, you know? I've always had high hopes for each of them…and it wouldn't be fair to have that taken away." Hotch met her eyes.

Emily nodded, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. "I agree."

And after that, the rest of the day went by as a blur. They were only updated once about JJ's condition, _once all day. _They all found that extremely unreasonable, but it was easily forgotten as they were told about all of the horrifying injuries JJ had sustained.

Among them, more than a few lacerations all over her body, small patches of second degree burns on her arms and legs, also an infection that had pretty much weakened her whole immune system to the point that she would have to be put in a bubble for 24 hours to make sure that no viruses or infections would come into contact with her and lastly, a major concussion which had left her in a state of unconsciousness for hours that deprived her brain of oxygen and caused a small brain bleed, which they were able to fix, but they aren't sure what it would cause until she woke up. The effects that the doctor explained were memory loss, short-term and long-term, speech impediment, seizures, a state of confusion, nausea, and cognitive, behavioral, and physical disabilities.

With that statement, Will (who had arrived after receiving a call from Hotch) left the waiting room and stormed out of the hospital. Outside, he kicked over a trashcan and screamed out into the parking lot at no one in particular.

He couldn't grasp the fact that the woman he loved was in this situation and that there was a chance that she would never be the same again.

Meanwhile, inside the hospital, Emily and Hotch watched as the doctor walked away after saying that none of them could visit JJ until the next day because of how weak her immune system was. They mutually decided to go back to the hotel and come back to the hospital as early in the morning as it would allow. But as they started to grab their stuff, Hotch noticed Henry sitting on one of the chairs.

Will hadn't come back inside yet.

Henry looked up when he felt Hotch's eyes on him. He offered a small, innocent smile. "Uncle Hotch! Where did my daddy go? He said that mommy was here!"

Hotch looked down at him, envying his ignorant innocence. His eyes met Henry's and he was chillingly reminded of how much he looked like his mom, how his blue eyes matched hers and how his smile could always made everyone, even him do the same.

"Your daddy is scared, Henry." He answered.

A confused look crossed his face, "Why is daddy scared?"

Hotch kneeled down in front of the small boy, "Because your mommy is hurt and he's scared for her. But you know what? He shouldn't be…because your mommy is the strongest woman that I've ever met."

Henry's face had dropped at the news that he'd been given, "She's hurt?"

"But she's strong, right Henry? Strong enough to get through this."

Henry nodded slowly, finally understanding. "My mommy is hurt, but strong." He simplified with a simple smile, but it quickly faded, "But if mommy is strong then why is daddy so scared?"

Hotch shook his head with a small shrug, "He just loves your mommy so much that he isn't thinking straight, but that's where you come in. You need to make sure your daddy remembers how strong your mommy is. Make sure that he knows everything is going to be okay." He paused, "You're going to have to be strong right now, Henry, alright?"

"Just like mommy?"

Hotch cracked a smile, "Just like mommy."

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry that this update is so short, but I just wanted to get some background stuff out of the way so that in this next upcoming chapter I can just get right into the action. I hope that this is enough to hold you off for the next one. Thanks for reading!


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